Republic of Zambia: President, 11 August 2016

At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of Zambia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Edgar LUNGU (since 25 January 2015)
• Head of Government: President Edgar LUNGU (since 25 January 2015)
• Assembly: Zambia has a unicameral National Assembly composed of 158 seats, with members serving 5-year terms.

Description of electoral system:

• The president is directly elected by absolute majority popular vote for a 5-year term, with eligibility for a second term. If no candidate wins, a runoff election will be held. Previous presidential elections had been conducted using the first-past-the-post system, however the National Assembly adopted a constitutional amendment in 2015 to change to the two-round system.

Last Election:

• The last official presidential election was held on 20 September 2011. In this election, Michael Chilufya SATA was elected with 42.85% of the vote. However, in October 2014, SATA died while in office, and a special election was held on 20 January 2015 to elect a successor. Edgar LUNGU won this election with 48.8% of the vote, defeating Hakainde HICHILEMA, who took 47.2%.

Main candidates in the election:

• Edgar LUNGU
  • Party: Patriotic Front (PF)
• Hakainde HICHILEMA
  • Party: United Party for National Development (UPND)
• Tilyenji KAUNDA
  • Party: United National Independence Party (UNIP)
• Edith NAWAKWI
  • Party: Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD)
• Wynter KABIMBA
  • Party: Rainbow Party
• Saviour CHISHIMBA
  • Party: United Progressive Party
• Peter SINKAMBA
  • Party: Green Party of Zambia
• Andyford BANDA
  • Party: People’s Alliance for Change
• Maxwell MWAMBA
  • Party Democratic Assembly

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 15,066,266 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 5,166,088 (2015)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 7,537,952 (July 2015 est.)

·         Is Zambia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Zambia ratified CEDAW: Yes (21 June 1985)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 20 (12.66%)

·         Human Development Index Position: 139

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High

Disability Data:

·         Is Zambia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (9 May 2008)

·         Has Zambia ratified CRPD: Yes (1 February 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 2,259,940