EU EOM Says Zambia Election Results Tabulation Deteriorated After Suspension
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has raised serious concerns over the transparency and quality of Zambia’s 2026 election results tabulation, saying the process deteriorated significantly after the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) temporarily suspended the counting and announcement of results nationwide.
The EU EOM is an independent and impartial mission deployed to Zambia at the invitation of the Government to observe the August 13 general elections. The mission has observers deployed across all 10 provinces and is mandated to assess the electoral process against Zambia’s legal framework and international standards.
According to the latest observation update, results were being tabulated at 226 constituency-level totalling centres, with the process still ongoing at some centres when the mission conducted its assessment.
EU Observers Note Deterioration After Results Suspension
The mission said that on August 14, a day after polling, the ECZ suspended the counting and announcement of results between 12:00 and 18:00 hours.
The ECZ reportedly cited violent incidents targeting polling staff and allegations of ballot box theft in some areas.
However, the EU EOM said it was not provided with further details explaining where the incidents occurred or whether they represented isolated cases or a broader pattern.
Before the suspension, EU observers gave relatively positive assessments of the tabulation process.
Of the observations made before the suspension, 43 percent rated the process as “very good.”
The mission also said polling agents and citizen observers were present at almost all the centres it monitored and were generally able to follow the entry of results.
The assessment changed considerably after the suspension was lifted.
The EU EOM said 12 percent of observations after the suspension rated the transparency of tabulation as either “bad” or “very bad”, while the proportion rated “very good” fell to 27 percent.
Concerns Over Tally Sheets and Digital Results
The mission also identified changes in the way results were handled after the suspension.
According to the EU EOM, in 42 percent of observations after the suspension, totalling-centre staff did not immediately record results on tally sheets after they had been announced by returning officers.
Before the suspension, this had occurred in 30 percent of observations.
The mission further reported that the proportion of observations where officials ensured that figures entered into the digital results management system matched those recorded on tally sheets dropped from 100 percent before the suspension to 81 percent afterwards.
EU observers also reported extended breaks in the tabulation process in almost half of their observations.
In some instances, returning officers appeared to be waiting for instructions from ECZ headquarters before announcing results.
Military Presence Raises Concern
Another issue highlighted by the EU EOM was the increased military presence at totalling centres following the suspension.
The mission said most of the people it consulted considered the military presence intimidating.
It further observed that fewer political party agents and citizen observers were present at some centres after the suspension compared with the period before it.
Reports of Violence at Totalling Centres
The EU EOM also reported receiving information about violence affecting the tabulation process in different parts of Zambia.
In Lusaka, the mission said an armed group attacked the Makeni totalling centre on August 15 and took almost all polling-station result forms.
In Central Province, EU observers said they interviewed what they described as credible witnesses who alleged that UPND cadres raided two of Kabwe’s three totalling centres on August 16.
The mission said the alleged incident seriously disrupted the tabulation process.
These accounts remain allegations reported by the EU EOM and would require appropriate investigation and verification.
EU Questions Publication of Polling-Station Results
The mission also raised concerns about the transparency of the publication of election results.
Although the ECZ launched a results website before the election, the EU EOM said partial results were not published on the platform.
The mission further noted that ECZ confirmed on election day that it would not publish results broken down by individual polling station.
According to the EU EOM, publishing polling-station-level results is an important transparency measure because it allows political parties, observers and members of the public to compare results recorded at individual polling stations with those eventually announced by the electoral authority.
Preliminary Results Announced on August 18
The EU EOM said the ECZ declared preliminary presidential results shortly before 03:00 hours on August 18.
The observation mission has consequently renewed its call for maximum transparency and urged the ECZ to publish disaggregated results at national level, broken down by polling station.
The mission said such publication could help strengthen public confidence in the announced outcome.
The EU EOM remains in Zambia and says it is continuing to monitor post-election developments across all 10 provinces.
The mission has previously stressed that it is independent and impartial, does not validate election results and does not seek to influence the electoral process. Its role is to observe, analyse and report on the process.
