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ECZ Launches National Election Results Centre at Mulungushi Ahead of Thursday’s Vote

The Zambian Economist — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:44:32 +0000

The Electoral Commission of Zambia opened its National Election Results Centre at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre on Wednesday, formally activating the venue that will serve as the country’s central hub for announcing outcomes of Thursday’s general election.

By The Zambian Economist Analyst

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) officially launched the 2026 National Election Results Centre on 12 August 2026, at 11:00 hours, at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka. The Commission says the Centre will serve as the central point for the announcement of results for the 2026 presidential election, one day ahead of the 13 August general election.

A Venue Already Familiar to the Electoral Cycle

Mulungushi International Conference Centre has effectively served as the operational home of the 2026 electoral cycle. The venue hosted the launch of the General Election Roadmap and Electoral Law Reform process in July 2024, the announcement of 70 new parliamentary constituencies in April 2026, and, more recently, the National Accreditation Centre through which media and election monitors obtained clearance to observe polling and results proceedings. Housing the Results Centre at the same site keeps the Commission’s public-facing operations concentrated in one location for the final stretch of the process.

Results Expected Within Four Days

Under the ECZ roadmap, presidential results are scheduled for declaration within four days of polling, pointing to an announcement around 17 August. The Results Centre is the venue through which constituency and provincial tallies will be consolidated and communicated to the country, making its opening a practical milestone: the infrastructure, staffing and media arrangements for results day are now in place a day before voters go to the polls.

The launch follows a compressed final week of preparations. Distribution of ballot papers for the 13 August election concluded on 8 August, and the deployment of more than 81,000 poll staff trained for the exercise was scheduled to run from 10 to 12 August. The voters’ register for this election stands at 8.7 million.

Accreditation and Access Under Scrutiny

Access to the Results Centre has already featured in one controversy this week. The Commission revoked the accreditation of a political party official barred from the National Results Centre over a video in which he was alleged to have made threats of violence, underlining that entry to the venue now opening its doors is being treated as a privilege tied to conduct rather than an automatic right for accredited stakeholders. The Independent Broadcasting Authority has separately cautioned broadcasters against airing speculative results, a reminder that official communication from the Results Centre, rather than unverified projections, is intended to be the reference point once counting begins.

What This Means for Markets and Stakeholders

For investors and business planners, the practical significance of the launch is timeline clarity. A functioning, publicly identified Results Centre with a stated four-day results window gives markets, diplomatic missions and corporate risk teams a fixed point to plan around, rather than an open-ended waiting period. Zambia’s kwacha, bond spreads and copper-sector investment decisions have all shown sensitivity to political uncertainty in the run-up to previous elections, and a credible, transparent results process is generally read by analysts as supportive of continuity in economic policy regardless of the outcome.

For political parties and civil society observers, the Centre’s opening also starts the clock on logistics they will need to finalise: agent accreditation, transport to Lusaka, and the media arrangements through which results will be verified and disputed if necessary.

The Road Ahead

With polling stations opening on Thursday and the Results Centre now formally activated, attention shifts to turnout, the conduct of voting, and the pace at which constituency-level results are relayed to Lusaka. The Zambian Economist will continue tracking developments at the National Results Centre as counting and collation proceed.

The consortium’s deployment complements the results centre infrastructure; see how civil society has deployed over 600 election monitors nationwide ahead of polling.

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ECZ Revokes Binwell Mpundu’s Accreditation to National Results Centre Over Threat Video

The Zambian Economist — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:31:26 +0000

The Electoral Commission of Zambia says the move was necessary to protect public safety after a video attributed to the NRPUP official showed him warning he was ready to kill to secure victory in Thursday’s election.

By The Zambian Economist Analyst

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has revoked the accreditation of Binwell Mpundu, presidential affairs chairperson of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), barring him from the National Results Centre with immediate effect, days before the Commission formally opened the Centre on 12 August.

In a press release dated 11 August 2026, the Commission said the revocation was made in the interest of public safety and security, citing Section 77(6) of the Electoral Process Act and Paragraph 11(1)(c) of the Electoral Code of Conduct.

The ECZ said the decision followed a video attributed to Mpundu that circulated on social media, in which he is alleged to have made threats indicating he was ready to kill during the election. The Commission described statements of this nature as a serious concern, warning that they carry the potential to incite violence, create public unrest and undermine the peaceful conduct of the electoral process.

Mpundu had been accredited to the National Results Centre after NRPUP’s Secretary General nominated him in a letter to the Commission dated 30 July 2026, as the party finalised its list of accredited stakeholders ahead of the vote.

Commission Cautions All Stakeholders

The ECZ used the statement to issue a broader caution to political parties, candidates and other accredited stakeholders ahead of Thursday’s polls, urging them to remain peaceful and follow the law. It specifically warned against statements, threats or conduct that could incite violence, cause public unrest or compromise public safety, and said it would not hesitate to take further action, within the law, against any accredited person whose conduct threatens the integrity or peaceful conduct of the election.

The statement was signed by Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro on behalf of the Commission, and follows President Hichilema’s own warning of “full consequences” for perpetrators of political violence earlier in the campaign.

Background

Binwell Mpundu, NRPUP presidential affairs chairperson, whose accreditation to the National Results Centre has been revoked by the ECZ.

Mpundu, a former independent Member of Parliament for Nkana, has served as NRPUP’s presidential affairs chairperson through party leader Brian Mundubile’s campaign. The video at the centre of the revocation was initially described by the party as AI generated, though Mpundu later said, in comments carried by Zambian media, that the recording was authentic and that his remarks were made in the context of self defence.

The revocation comes two days before Zambians vote in the 13 August general election, with ballot paper logistics and results centre preparations now in their final stages and the ECZ having already flagged the campaign period as marked by isolated incidents of political violence.

What It Means

The action is among the clearest signals yet that the ECZ is prepared to enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct against accredited stakeholders in the closing days of the campaign, including officials nominated by major parties. It also underlines the weight the Commission is placing on National Results Centre security as counting and results processes approach, with accreditation now conditioned as much on conduct as on formal nomination. The move follows a separate warning this week from the Independent Broadcasting Authority to broadcasters over speculative election results, part of a wider regulatory push for a peaceful and orderly vote.

Sources: Electoral Commission of Zambia; Zambian media reports.

Civil society groups have also stepped up their own oversight; see how the ZIKO LATHU Consortium has deployed over 600 election monitors nationwide.