When is the Zambia general election 2026?

Polling day is 2026-08-13 (officially set).

When will the final result of the President race be official?

Expected between 2026-08-14T22:00:00Z and 2026-08-20T21:59:59Z (UTC), confidence announced. Constitution Art. 101(2): the Returning Officer (the ECZ chairperson) 'shall declare the presidential candidate who receives more than fifty percent of the valid votes cast' as President-elect; otherwise a second ballot within 37 days (Art. 101(3)). ECZ roadmap: verification 15-17 Aug, declaration Monday 17 Aug 2026. The window runs to the end of Thu 20 Aug CAT, erring late (2021 precedent: vote 12 Aug, declaration 16 Aug 2021, day 4, per Reuters/BBC as cited on Wikipedia). What happened (press only, so observedAt is unset): ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis declared Hakainde Hichilema President-elect 'this 18th day of August, 2026', in the early hours of Tue 18 Aug, with more than 50% of valid votes, so no second ballot was needed (Al Jazeera, 18 Aug 2026; News Diggers, 24 Aug 2026). On 25 Sep 2026 no declaration or results document for 2026 was on elections.org.zm.

When will the final result of the National Assembly race be official?

Expected between 2026-08-14T22:00:00Z and 2026-08-28T21:59:59Z (UTC), confidence announced. Seats: Constitution Art. 68(1) as replaced by the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025 (assent 18 Dec 2025): 226 constituency-based seats (first past the post) plus 40 proportional-representation seats (20 women, 15 youths, 5 persons with disabilities) = 266 elected; up to 11 nominated members and ex officio members are not counted here. Art. 47(4) as amended: the ECZ distributes the 40 PR seats to parties 'after a general election ... in proportion to the total number of valid votes received by a presidential candidate', so the full composition depends on the presidential result. ECZ roadmap: declaration 17 Aug, publication of election results 17-24 Aug 2026; the window runs four more days to end of Fri 28 Aug CAT, erring late (an estimate on top of the roadmap). Wikipedia reports all 226 constituencies declared and the 40 PR seats allocated, but we found no ECZ page or document for them, so observedAt is unset. Challenges: an election petition goes to the High Court and must be heard within 90 days of filing (Art. 73); the filing deadline is set by the Electoral Process Act, which we did not read.

Where are the official President results?

No single-election results page is recorded yet. The counting authority is Electoral Commission of Zambia (https://www.elections.org.zm/).

Where are the official National Assembly results?

No single-election results page is recorded yet. The counting authority is Electoral Commission of Zambia (https://www.elections.org.zm/).

Calendar › Zambia

Zambia general election 2026

Name: Zambia general election 2026
Start: 2026-08-13
Location: Zambia

Polling day Thu, 13 Aug 2026. 2 races. Counted by Electoral Commission of Zambia. Times are Lusaka time; hover for UTC.

Stale: president: election-night was expected by 2026-08-17T21:59:59Z and has not been observed yet. Treat the windows below with care until the record is re-verified.

President Awaiting confirmation

15–20 Aug 2026

Final result window, set by the law or the authority. It closed Thu 20 Aug, 23:59: the final result should be out, but we have not confirmed it from the authority yet.

Polls close: Thu 13 Aug, 18:00
First count by: Mon 17 Aug, 23:59
Counted by: Electoral Commission of Zambia
Results page: No single-election results page yet.
Authority site: elections.org.zm

National Assembly Awaiting confirmation

15–28 Aug 2026

Final result window, set by the law or the authority. It closed Fri 28 Aug, 23:59: the final result should be out, but we have not confirmed it from the authority yet.

Polls close: Thu 13 Aug, 18:00
First count by: Mon 17 Aug, 23:59
Counted by: Electoral Commission of Zambia
Results page: No single-election results page yet.
Authority site: elections.org.zm

President

13 Aug20 Aug27 Aug3 Sept10 Sept

Election-night count

13–17 AugElection-night count: Thu 13 Aug, 18:00 → Mon 17 Aug, 23:59, estimate.

Final result

15–20 AugFinal result: Sat 15 Aug, 00:00 → Thu 20 Aug, 23:59, announced.

Court validationexpected on the live page now

18 Aug – 8 SeptCourt validation: Tue 18 Aug, 00:00 → Tue 8 Sept, 23:59, announced.

announced set by law or the authorityprecedent from the last electionestimate our estimateLusaka time. Every window on this chart has passed.

Stage windows and their sources 4 stages, each cited

Election-night count
Thu 13 Aug, 18:00 → Mon 17 Aug, 23:59
estimate

Polls closed at 18:00 CAT (UTC+2, no DST) = 16:00 UTC (ECZ notice ?p=5598). Votes are counted at polling stations and totalled by constituency; the ECZ reads constituency results out at its National Results Centre (launched 11 Aug 2026 per the ECZ roadmap) as they arrive. These are partial counts, not the declared result. 2026: the ECZ suspended the count for several hours on 14 Aug, citing attacks on polling staff (Al Jazeera, 18 Aug 2026). The window closes with the roadmap's end of verification (17 Aug); it is an estimate.
Final result
Sat 15 Aug, 00:00 → Thu 20 Aug, 23:59
announced

Constitution Art. 101(2): the Returning Officer (the ECZ chairperson) 'shall declare the presidential candidate who receives more than fifty percent of the valid votes cast' as President-elect; otherwise a second ballot within 37 days (Art. 101(3)). ECZ roadmap: verification 15-17 Aug, declaration Monday 17 Aug 2026. The window runs to the end of Thu 20 Aug CAT, erring late (2021 precedent: vote 12 Aug, declaration 16 Aug 2021, day 4, per Reuters/BBC as cited on Wikipedia). What happened (press only, so observedAt is unset): ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis declared Hakainde Hichilema President-elect 'this 18th day of August, 2026', in the early hours of Tue 18 Aug, with more than 50% of valid votes, so no second ballot was needed (Al Jazeera, 18 Aug 2026; News Diggers, 24 Aug 2026). On 25 Sep 2026 no declaration or results document for 2026 was on elections.org.zm.
Court validation
Tue 18 Aug, 00:00 → Tue 8 Sept, 23:59
announced

The Constitutional Court acts only on a petition. Constitution Art. 101(4) / 103(1): a person may petition it 'within seven days of the declaration'; Art. 103(2) as amended by Act No. 13 of 2025: the Court shall 'hear and determine' the petition within fourteen days of filing; its decision is final. Window: declaration day (18 Aug) to 14 days after the last filing day (25 Aug) = 8 Sep 2026. What happened (press only): no petition was filed. News Diggers (24 Aug 2026) reported none filed with under 24 hours left; the campaign put the deadline at 24 Aug; court premises, including the Constitutional Court's, were closed on 24 Aug citing security (Reuters, 24 Aug 2026, as cited on Wikipedia); State House said on 25 Aug that no petition had been lodged (Mwebantu, 25 Aug 2026, as cited on Wikipedia). With no petition, the declaration stands and no court judgment exists.
Government formed
Tue 1 Sept, 00:00 → Tue 1 Sept, 23:59
announced

Constitution Art. 105(2)(a): the President-elect is sworn in 'on the Tuesday following the seventh day after the date of the declaration' if no petition is filed. Declaration 18 Aug; seventh day after = Tue 25 Aug; the Tuesday following = Tue 1 Sep 2026. Press/Wikipedia ('Second inauguration of Hakainde Hichilema'): sworn in by Chief Justice Mumba Malila at National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, on 1 Sep 2026, ceremony from 11:00 CAT. Not read on an authority page.

Results sources 5 pages, 0 can answer a results question

URL	Role	Kind	Can answer a results question	Last check
elections.org.zm	results-final	emb home	no (site root: cannot answer a results question)	not checked yet
elections.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026-Elections-Timetable-14-August-2025-30-days.pdf	timetable	other	no (election page without a results marker)	not checked yet
elections.org.zm	timetable	emb home	no (site root: cannot answer a results question)	not checked yet
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Zambian_general_election	see-also	other	no (election page without a results marker)	not checked yet
elections.org.zm	authority-home	emb home	no (site root: cannot answer a results question)	not checked yet

National Assembly 266 seats

13 Aug20 Aug27 Aug

Election-night count

13–17 AugElection-night count: Thu 13 Aug, 18:00 → Mon 17 Aug, 23:59, estimate.

Final resultexpected on the live page now

15–28 AugFinal result: Sat 15 Aug, 00:00 → Fri 28 Aug, 23:59, announced.

announced set by law or the authorityprecedent from the last electionestimate our estimateLusaka time. Every window on this chart has passed.

Stage windows and their sources 2 stages, each cited

Election-night count
Thu 13 Aug, 18:00 → Mon 17 Aug, 23:59
estimate

Polls closed at 18:00 CAT = 16:00 UTC (ECZ notice ?p=5598). Each of the 226 constituency seats is declared by its returning officer at the constituency totalling centre as counting finishes; the ECZ relays these at the National Results Centre. The window follows the ECZ roadmap's verification period (to 17 Aug); an estimate.
Final result
Sat 15 Aug, 00:00 → Fri 28 Aug, 23:59
announced

Seats: Constitution Art. 68(1) as replaced by the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025 (assent 18 Dec 2025): 226 constituency-based seats (first past the post) plus 40 proportional-representation seats (20 women, 15 youths, 5 persons with disabilities) = 266 elected; up to 11 nominated members and ex officio members are not counted here. Art. 47(4) as amended: the ECZ distributes the 40 PR seats to parties 'after a general election ... in proportion to the total number of valid votes received by a presidential candidate', so the full composition depends on the presidential result. ECZ roadmap: declaration 17 Aug, publication of election results 17-24 Aug 2026; the window runs four more days to end of Fri 28 Aug CAT, erring late (an estimate on top of the roadmap). Wikipedia reports all 226 constituencies declared and the 40 PR seats allocated, but we found no ECZ page or document for them, so observedAt is unset. Challenges: an election petition goes to the High Court and must be heard within 90 days of filing (Art. 73); the filing deadline is set by the Electoral Process Act, which we did not read.

Results sources 5 pages, 0 can answer a results question

URL	Role	Kind	Can answer a results question	Last check
elections.org.zm	results-final	emb home	no (site root: cannot answer a results question)	not checked yet
elections.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026-Elections-Timetable-14-August-2025-30-days.pdf	timetable	other	no (election page without a results marker)	not checked yet
elections.org.zm	timetable	emb home	no (site root: cannot answer a results question)	not checked yet
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Zambian_general_election	see-also	other	no (election page without a results marker)	not checked yet
elections.org.zm	authority-home	emb home	no (site root: cannot answer a results question)	not checked yet

Cite, embed, correct

Election Index, “Zambia general election 2026”, https://electionindex.org/election/zambia-general-2026, dataset 2026-09-25.b881073d. CC BY 4.0.

Report a correction JSON Check a final-result question Embed preview

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<iframe src="https://electionindex.org/embed/election/zambia-general-2026" title="Zambia general election 2026: when the result is final (Election Index)" width="100%" height="440" style="border:0" loading="lazy"></iframe>

Provenance: researcher agent 2026-09-25: ECZ Revised 2026 General Election Roadmap (elections.org.zm PDF), ECZ nomination notice ?p=5598 (polling hours), ECZ speech ?p=5529 (226 constituencies), ECZ results index ?page_id=4293 and WordPress post/media API (no 2026 results posted), Constitution of Zambia 2016 Arts 68, 73, 101, 103, 105 (constituteproject.org), Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025 (parliament.gov.zm PDF), Al Jazeera 18 Aug 2026, News Diggers 24 Aug 2026; leads and cross-checks from Wikipedia (2026 and 2021 Zambian general election; Second inauguration of Hakainde Hichilema) (CC BY 4.0 (Election Index)). Last verified 2026-09-25.

Questions and answers

When is the Zambia general election 2026?: Polling day is 2026-08-13 (officially set).
When will the final result of the President race be official?: Expected between 2026-08-14T22:00:00Z and 2026-08-20T21:59:59Z (UTC), confidence announced. Constitution Art. 101(2): the Returning Officer (the ECZ chairperson) 'shall declare the presidential candidate who receives more than fifty percent of the valid votes cast' as President-elect; otherwise a second ballot within 37 days (Art. 101(3)). ECZ roadmap: verification 15-17 Aug, declaration Monday 17 Aug 2026. The window runs to the end of Thu 20 Aug CAT, erring late (2021 precedent: vote 12 Aug, declaration 16 Aug 2021, day 4, per Reuters/BBC as cited on Wikipedia). What happened (press only, so observedAt is unset): ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis declared Hakainde Hichilema President-elect 'this 18th day of August, 2026', in the early hours of Tue 18 Aug, with more than 50% of valid votes, so no second ballot was needed (Al Jazeera, 18 Aug 2026; News Diggers, 24 Aug 2026). On 25 Sep 2026 no declaration or results document for 2026 was on elections.org.zm.
When will the final result of the National Assembly race be official?: Expected between 2026-08-14T22:00:00Z and 2026-08-28T21:59:59Z (UTC), confidence announced. Seats: Constitution Art. 68(1) as replaced by the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025 (assent 18 Dec 2025): 226 constituency-based seats (first past the post) plus 40 proportional-representation seats (20 women, 15 youths, 5 persons with disabilities) = 266 elected; up to 11 nominated members and ex officio members are not counted here. Art. 47(4) as amended: the ECZ distributes the 40 PR seats to parties 'after a general election ... in proportion to the total number of valid votes received by a presidential candidate', so the full composition depends on the presidential result. ECZ roadmap: declaration 17 Aug, publication of election results 17-24 Aug 2026; the window runs four more days to end of Fri 28 Aug CAT, erring late (an estimate on top of the roadmap). Wikipedia reports all 226 constituencies declared and the 40 PR seats allocated, but we found no ECZ page or document for them, so observedAt is unset. Challenges: an election petition goes to the High Court and must be heard within 90 days of filing (Art. 73); the filing deadline is set by the Electoral Process Act, which we did not read.
Where are the official President results?: No single-election results page is recorded yet. The counting authority is Electoral Commission of Zambia (https://www.elections.org.zm/).
Where are the official National Assembly results?: No single-election results page is recorded yet. The counting authority is Electoral Commission of Zambia (https://www.elections.org.zm/).