28/05/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lusaka – Thursday, 28th May 2026
Rampant Withdrawals from the Parliamentary Race Are an Assault on Democracy
Democracy doesn’t function on paper alone. It lives and dies in the choices made by candidates and voters during an election cycle. When aspiring leaders enter the parliamentary race, they don’t just file a name on a ballot, they make a public commitment to the people who believe in them, to the process, and to the idea that every Zambian deserves a real choice.
At Justice Watch Zambia, we are concerned by the grow@ing pattern of rampant withdrawals from parliamentary races. This is more than a logistical headache. It is a direct assault on democracy.
Filing is a Promise, Not a Trial Run
Many candidates file as independents or under political parties knowing full well the odds are stacked against them. That’s not the problem. A healthy democracy needs outsiders, long shots, and voices that challenge the status quo.
The issue starts when filing becomes performative—when candidates use the nomination process to test the waters, negotiate behind closed doors, or posture for future deals, then pull out at the last minute.
If you file as an independent or under a party banner, you’re telling voters: “Here is my platform. Here is my vision. Judge me.” To withdraw en masse after that point is to tell those same voters their time, their hope, and their participation don’t matter. It reduces the ballot to a revolving door and turns serious political contestation into a game.
How Withdrawals Undermine the Process
1. They erode voter trust: When citizens show up to rallies, donate small amounts, and convince their neighbors to vote for a candidate who then withdraws without explanation, cynicism grows. Voters start to believe the whole system is rigged and their participation is pointless.
2. They distort genuine competition: Late withdrawals can clear the path for a pre-arranged winner, effectively denying voters a contested election. That’s not competition; it’s choreography. It denies citizens the chance to compare ideas and hold candidates to account at the ballot box.
3. They waste public resources: Printing ballots, organizing polling stations, and running civic education campaigns all cost time and money. When candidates withdraw after these processes are underway, public funds are wasted and the Electoral Commission of Zambia is forced into last-minute changes that increase the risk of errors.
Holding the Line Matters
The fact that you might not win should never be the reason you walk away. If it were, only incumbents and well-funded candidates would ever stay in the race. Democracy requires people willing to lose publicly so that the principle of choice remains intact. Losing on election day is part of the process. Quitting before it starts is not.
Candidates who know they won’t win still play a vital role: they raise issues the frontrunners ignore, give marginalized communities a voice, and keep parties honest. That role disappears when withdrawals become the default move once the pressure rises.
A Call for Accountability
Justice Watch Zambia calls on political parties and the Electoral Commission of Zambia to enforce clearer rules around withdrawals and penalties for frivolous nominations. But the deeper fix is cultural.
Candidates must treat filing as a commitment, not a bargaining chip. And voters must demand that commitment and hold to account those who treat the ballot as a stage for personal maneuvering.
If we accept rampant withdrawals as normal, we accept a democracy where the ballot is hollow and the outcome is decided before voting begins. That’s not how a republic stays alive.
Issued by:
Cornel Zimba
President
Justice Watch Zambia (JWZ)
Contact: +260977920334
Email: [email protected]
