Zambia Announces 70 New Constituencies Ahead of August 2026 Election

The Electoral Commission of Zambia today announced the names of 70 new constituencies, expanding the country's legislative architecture from 156 to 226 seats ahead of the August 2026 General Election.

ECZ Chairperson Mrs Mwangala Zaloumis SC delivered the announcement at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, describing it as the culmination of a nationwide delimitation process rooted in constitutional mandate and citizen participation.

The exercise follows the enactment of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025, which created the legal basis for the expansion. Consultations were held across all 116 districts before provincial sittings synthesised submissions into final recommendations. The Commission cited population density, geographical features, community cohesion and accessibility among the criteria applied.

Southern and Eastern provinces received the largest allocations with nine new constituencies each, while Luapula received five. Lusaka Province gains six seats, including three new Lusaka city constituencies: Makeni, Roma and Lima.

Zaloumis described the announcement as the most significant expansion of democratic representation in Zambia's post-independence history, noting that no previous delimitation exercise had created so many constituencies at once. She said the exercise would bring leadership closer to the people, improve access to representation in remote and sparsely populated areas, and ensure that Zambia's democratic architecture keeps pace with a growing population.