Zambia’s Aug. 13, 2026 Election to Bring SADC Observers as Hichilema Seeks Second Term

Zambia is scheduled to hold presidential, parliamentary and local elections on Aug. 13, 2026, with the Southern African Development Community deploying an electoral-observation mission for the nationwide vote.

President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking a second term, while Brian Mundubile has been identified as a leading opposition challenger. The election follows Zambia’s debt restructuring and comes amid cost-of-living concerns. Zambia is also Africa’s second-largest copper producer, making the vote a test of Hichilema’s economic record as well as the country’s democratic credibility.

Observers and results timetable

SADC observers are to monitor the opening of polling stations, voting, closing procedures and counting, along with other electoral processes across Zambia. The mission’s mandate covers the presidential, parliamentary and local election process.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia’s timetable lists Aug. 17, 2026, as the date for declaring election results. As of Aug. 10, voting had not taken place, so no results or winners had been declared and it was not yet known whether a presidential runoff would be required. The next scheduled steps are polling on Aug. 13, followed by the commission’s planned results declaration four days later.