Is ECZ credible enough?
…Why did the public easily believe the ‘fake’ ECZ statement on presidential nominations
By Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma
ON January 31, 2026, a statement purportedly issued by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) circulated widely across social media and messaging platforms. The statement warned political parties, alliances, and factions that the ECZ would only accept presidential nomination papers bearing names duly registered with the Registrar of Societies. It further cautioned that nominations submitted without such certification would be rejected, ostensibly to prevent confusion and “chaos” in the electoral process.
Within hours, the statement had spread rapidly across WhatsApp groups, Facebook pages and informal news channels, triggering widespread anxiety and political debate. It later emerged that the statement was fake. The ECZ swiftly disowned it, declaring that the document did not originate from the commission.
Yet the more consequential issue is not the forgery itself, but the fact that almost no one questioned its authenticity. The ease with which the public accepted the statement reveals a profound crisis of institutional credibility.
ECZ’s response – and its limitations
In disowning the document, the ECZ clarified that it was not “currently conducting any nomination process” and that no such notice had been issued. While this response addressed the immediate misinformation, it failed to confront the deeper concern raised by the incident.
Notably, the Commission confined itself to stating that it was not “currently” undertaking nominations. It did not categorically reject the substance of the statement or rule out similar requirements in the future. This careful wording inevitably invited speculation that the statement may have reflected a proposal that was prematurely exposed rather than entirely fabricated.
A credibility problem, not a verification problem
This episode underscores a fundamental institutional weakness: the ECZ lacks a single, authoritative communication centre. Over time, official statements have been issued by the ECZ spokesperson, the corporate affairs department, and senior officials such as Brown Kasaro and Patrica Luhanga. The forged statement closely mirrored the tone, structure and language of previous ECZ communications, rendering it virtually indistinguishable from an authentic press release.
In such circumstances, the public’s ability to verify authenticity depends almost entirely on trust in the institution itself. Unfortunately, under the United Party for National Development (UPND), that trust has been severely compromised.
Erosion of public trust in the ECZ
The public reaction to the fake statement makes one fact unmistakably clear: public confidence in the Electoral Commission of Zambia has been significantly eroded. For many Zambians, the ECZ is no longer perceived as an independent arbiter of the electoral process, but as an institution operating in alignment with the interests of the ruling party.
This perception has not arisen spontaneously. It is rooted in a series of political and administrative developments since the UPND assumed office – developments that have affected institutions constitutionally mandated to function independently, including the Registrar of Societies, the Zambia Police Service and the ECZ itself.
Against this background, the fake statement did not appear implausible. It appeared consistent with the character of the ECZ under the UPND.
Context that made the statement believable
The public’s readiness to accept the statement must be understood within a broader political context that many citizens interpret as deliberate and sequential.
The key question is this: why did no one doubt the statement as fake? The answer lies in how the public perceives the manipulation of state institutions to serve the interests of the party in power. Let us take a close examination of how the UPND have since 2021 taken a series of steps that explain the low levels of public trust in vital institutions of governance such as the ECZ.
First, independent professionals were removed from leadership positions at the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Registrar of Societies. After delivering an election that saw the victory of President Hakainde Hichilema, chairperson judge Esau Chulu, commissioner Emily Sikazwe and CEO Patrick Shindano were all hounded out of the commission under the guise that their contracts had expired.
Second, these removed officials were then replaced with individuals widely perceived to be loyal to the President or the ruling party. This includes the chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis, commissioner McDonald Chipenzi and CEO Kasaro, who was previously dismissed from his ECZ position for suspected links to the UPND when the party was in opposition.
Third, the police were used to take control of the Patriotic Front (PF). After the PF took time to organise an elective conference to replace former president Edgar Lungu, the UPND decided to hold one on behalf of the main opposition party and even got the police to bless the so-called convention. The UPND even got ZNBC to broadcast the sham convention live as if to show the State’s involvement in the whole diabolical scheme.
Fourth, at this sham conference, the UPND selected leaders for the PF and imposed them on the party. That is how Miles Sampa and Robert Chabinga were created. When the UPND tries to distance itself from the divisions in PF, what they do not acknowledge is how they abused State institutions to facilitate the creation of the factions in the main opposition party. I hope that Miles Sampa will one day tell Zambians what really transpired during that period and the role of Hichilema in the whole fiasco.
Fifth, the Chief Registrar of Societies recognised the imposed leadership. After using crooked means to choose leaders for the PF, the UPND were confronted by a principled Registrar of Societies named Thandiwe Mhende who refused to change the names of the officer bearers on the ground that they were not legally elected. Mhende said it would be wrong to forsake the PF’a constitution that expressly provided for how a proper convention was to held. As such, she refused to engage in the UPND’s illegalities. For her principled stance, Mhende was hounded out of office and replaced with someone who was happy to implement the changes that resulted in the formal recognition of Sampa and Chabinga as PF leader. Those interested can relive this history by reading the 2023 article on the link below.
Finally, after all this was done, the ECZ refused to accept nominations from political parties unless they were signed by party leaders recognised by the Chief Registrar of Societies. This was a new administrative regulation created by the ECZ without warning or consultation. The cumulative effect of these actions was to prevent the PF from fielding candidates in elections held since 2022. In response, the PF began fielding candidates through other political parties whose leadership was duly recognised by the Chief Registrar of Societies, creating new political complications for the party in power.
This abbreviated background explains why the “fake” ECZ statement was believed by the public, who viewed it as an extension of the imingalato process. After the government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa recently stated that the country would experience increased legal autocracy, the fake statement was interpreted as the next logical step – namely, compelling the ECZ to reject presidential nominations of candidates whose names do not appear with the Chief Registrar of Societies.
The objective of such a move would be to eliminate the formation of electoral alliances capable of producing strong presidential candidates and to force political parties to field only candidates registered with the Chief Registrar of Societies. Only recently, President Hichilema assured donors that Zambia would hold a credible election despite concerns that the political playing field has already been tilted against opposition parties through legal autocracy, as illustrated in the article below:
Conclusion
Was the initial statement from the ECZ really fake? We may never know. It is possible that the statement was authentic and the ECZ only backtracked or backed off from it following public backlash. It is also possible that someone with prior knowledge of the plan pre-empted the move to force a public reaction and denial from the ECZ. Whatever the case, one thing is certain: public trust in the Electoral Commission of Zambia is at its lowest point and the UPND supporters who are in charge of the commission will do well to change for the better. They should ask themselves the questions: “if this party or president whose interest we are trying so hard to advance today is not there tomorrow, what will be our legacy? How will the public perceive us at the time?”
Let Zaloumis, Chipenzi and Kasaro reflect and redeem themselves before it is too late. These leaders they are trying so hard to shield from competition will not live forever. The so-called “fake” statement from ECZ has left no doubt about what Zambians think of the ECZ today, led by this trio: an untrustworthy body capable of doing wrong in the service of Hichilema and the UPND. Is that how Zaloumis, Chipenzi and Kasaro want to be remembered?
