State House Makes Final Call for Peace as Nation Prepares to Vote

State House has called on all political leaders to reject inflammatory language and protect human life, as a row over remarks touching on killing has pitted two opposition figures against each other on the eve of Thursday's election.

In a statement issued by Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka, State House said Zambians had overwhelmingly rejected the electoral violence, intimidation and hate speech that scarred past polls, and urged that the peace be safeguarded through the campaign's final hours.

"Every human life is precious. No election, no political contest, no disagreement is worth a single life," the statement read, adding that incitement to kill was not rhetoric to be shrugged off.

The appeal singled out the controversy surrounding former Nkana MP Binwell Mpundu and Tonse Alliance president Brian Mundubile. Statements of "extraordinary seriousness," it said, were first blamed on artificial intelligence before the explanation shifted from denial to acknowledgement. The two leaders have since turned on each other, with Mr Mpundu publicly rebuking his own alliance president days before Zambians vote.

"Artificial intelligence did not put those words on the national stage. Leaders did. And artificial intelligence cannot take responsibility. Only leaders can do that," the statement said.

State House urged every leader, regardless of party, to lower the temperature and ensure no citizen is placed in danger for the sake of political power, insisting the 2026 election would be peaceful "because the Zambian people have chosen peace."