Monitoring The 2026 Constituency Delimitation Process
On 16th February 2026, Transparency & Accountability Lab participated in the District Delimitation Sitting in Choma held at St. Mawaggali Trades Training Institute, convened by the Electoral Commission of Zambia as part of the nationwide exercise taking place across all 116 districts of Zambia.
This exercise is a significant constitutional undertaking arising from the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025, which increased the number of constituency-based seats in the National Assembly from 156 to 226. The process is aimed at strengthening Zambia’s democracy and ensuring fair and equitable representation in response to population growth and evolving settlement patterns.
Through its participation, Transparency & Accountability Lab also ensured that the engagement was conducted in line with the principles of transparency, inclusiveness and public participation, providing a constructive platform for stakeholders to make submissions on the proposed boundaries.
Article 59 of the Constitution guides the delimitation of constituencies and wards, requiring the Commission to consider the history, diversity and cohesiveness of communities; population density, trends and projections; and to ensure reasonable population sizes while taking into account communication and geographical features. It further requires that constituencies and wards remain wholly within districts and that approximate equality of population is achieved, while ensuring adequate representation for both urban and sparsely populated areas.
