Pact moves to block ECZ delimitation exercise

Pact moves to block ECZ delimitation exercise

By Thandizo Banda

THE People’s Pact has petitioned the Constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of the delimitation and naming of new constituencies and wards by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).

The pact is asking the court for a stay of the 2025/2026 delimitation exercise and an injunction preventing certification of the final voters register, which is due on April 30, arguing that the ECZ’s sequence of operations contravenes constitutional provisions governing boundary changes.

People’s Pact vice president for strategy Peter Sinkamba submitted that the voter registration data were captured before the legal finalisation of new boundaries and before the dissolution of parliament and councils, raising breaches of article 58(6) and article 57(6) of the constitution.

Sinkamba submitted that certifying the register on April 30 would create an irreversible legal lock under the Electoral Process Act and risk mass disenfranchisement, since voter cards issued under the existing 156 constituencies could be mapped to 211 constituencies after.

He also said that the impending provisional register inspection window from February 9 to 23 2026, arguing that voters currently lack the constitutional certainty required to verify their registration details against legally finalised boundaries.

Sinkamba contends that the ECZ had not demonstrated compliance with the population quota requirement set out in article 58(5) and noted uncertainty over which delimitation report the commission intends to rely on, whether a 2019 report or a post-2022 census report would be used.

He insisted that maintaining the status quo of 156 constituencies pending judicial determination was the balance of convenience that would protect the credibility of the August 13, general election.

“However, as boundaries for the 211 constituencies were not legally finalised during mass registration, voters have no ‘constitutional certainty’ against which to verify their records,” he submitted.

Sinkamba said the new boundaries would only take effect upon the dissolution of Parliament and councils.

He argued that the government’s intent to enforce the boundaries in the 2026 register, before dissolution of Parliament and councils, was a procedural breach that requires immediate judicial stay to prevent a nullity.

“The action by ECZ risk of mass disenfranchisement. By issuing voter cards based on 156 constituencies and then mapping them to 211 constituencies ex post facto (after the fact), creates a mismatch between a voter’s physical card and the electronic register,” he said.