Ballot papers are now in It's time for citizens to exercise their democratic right

By Justin Mushoke

The ballot papers for the 2026 general election are now in the country, having arrived by plane from Dubai at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on Wednesday and Thursday last week.

They will now continue their journey, being distributed to every polling station across the country, of which there are 13,529, ready for August 13.

This is an important milestone for our democracy and Zambia can be proud of the strong commitment to ensuring free and fair elections, which has been demonstrated through the transparency of the process so far.

Printing began on June 30, with the ballots for the presidential, National Assembly and local government elections printed by Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing in Dubai — a company that has printed ballots for Zambia's elections since 2015.

The printing was open to observers, of which I was one, alongside various representatives of political parties, civil society organisations, faith-based organisations, the media and other stakeholders.

Here we played an important role in providing independent oversight, something the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) recognises that it's fundamental to strengthening public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.

We watched on as the printers produced the 9.1 million ballots that are needed, with every ballot paper given a unique serial number, which means it can be tracked all the way from the printing press to the polling station.

Once printed, the ballot papers were stitched into booklets of 50 ballot papers each, which has been standard practice since 2006.

The printer then provided ECZ and observers with the serial numbers and quantities of all ballot papers ahead of shipment.

As the ballots landed at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, observers were once again present to participate in the verification process.

Then on July 31, once all the ballot papers had arrived, further verification took place at the ECZ Silverest Warehouse, with stakeholders invited to verify them before their distribution to the respective districts ready for elections.

This involves checking the serial numbers, the quantities and the ballot papers allocated to every constituency.

Each returning officer then receives ballot papers together with a ballot paper issue form showing the serial numbers and quantities allocated to each constituency.

In the coming days, each of Zambia's 226 constituencies will receive complete sets of presidential, National Assembly and local government ballot papers.

The ballot papers will be transported via secure road transport to districts and upon arrival, they will once again be subject to verification, with district electoral officers receiving the packages in the presence of stakeholders.

As every ballot paper is pre-allocated to a specific polling station before it leaves the printer and given a unique identifier, every ballot paper is accounted for before, during and after the polls.

The ballot papers will soon be in place ready for citizens to cast their vote.

Their journey is testament to the commitment of ECZ and all participating stakeholders in supporting free and fair elections so that Zambians can once again exercise their democratic right to vote for candidates of their choice.

Now it is time for citizens to get their original voters' cards and green national registration cards ready and plan their own route to the polling station come August 13.

The author is executive director of the Action Governance Forum.

This piece was originally published in the Zambian Daily Mail