HOW WERE THE 70 IDENTIFIED
…Disclose criteria used for new constituencies, secretive ECZ urged
By Adrian Mwanza
GOVERNANCE activist Brebner Changala has demanded that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) fully disclose the method used to come up with 70 new constituencies.
In an interview with The Mast at the weekend, Changala said ECZ should disclose the full details of the criteria used to come up with the 70 new constituencies ahead of the August 13 general election.
ECZ launched the delimitation exercise in Lusaka Friday as part of the implementation of the newly enacted Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025, which will see 70 new constituencies added to the current ones.
“I’m challenging ECZ to tell the nation what criteria they used for them to come up with the decision to create 70 new constituencies so that the nation can know,” Changala said.
He said the delimitation was meant to advantage the United Party for National Development (UPND) so that it could have more numbers in Parliament.
Changala said the current ECZ should be disbanded because it was a recipe for disaster if allowed to continue in its current composition.
He said the issue of delimitation was sensitive and wondered why the opposition was comfortably watching ECZ being used to manipulate the electoral process of the country in favour of the ruling party.
Changala doubted ECZ’s credibility to run the August elections in a fair manner.
“My call is for President Hakainde Hichilema to disband the current ECZ board because if they are left unchecked, they might send the country into chaos and disaster,” he warned.
Changala warned that Zambians might reject the election results in August because the current government was doing everything in its power to manipulate the system, including the secretive creation of 70 new constituencies aimed at giving the UPND an unfair advantage over the opposition.
During the launch of the delimitation exercise at Mulungushi International Conference Centre Friday, ECZ Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis assured the nation that the institution was committed to delivering a credible, free and fair election.
But opposition political parties have been seriously doubting the commission’s capacity to pull such a feat when it is being run by well known UPND members and supporters, including her and the chief executive officer (CEO).
