The New Era Democratic Party (NED) has formally petitioned the Southern African Development Community (SADC), warning that Zambia’s governance environment is deteriorating ahead of the 2026 general elections. In a letter to SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi, NED founder Pumulo Situmbeko outlines concerns about political interference, shrinking civic space, and actions he says threaten the conditions required for free and fair elections. The correspondence supports earlier alerts submitted by the Patriotic Front and calls for SADC to deploy an early-intervention mission, engage the Zambian government, and facilitate national dialogue to safeguard electoral integrity. Below is the full Letter
HIS EXCELLENCY ELIAS M. MAGOSI
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
SADC HOUSE
CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
PRIVATE BAG 0095
GABORONE
BOTSWANA
RE: DEMOCRACY, FREE & FAIR ELECTIONS OF 2026 THREATENED IN THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA
Your Excellency,
I write to you as the Founder of the New Era Democratic Party (NED), a legally registered opposition political party in the Republic of Zambia. I would like to express my grave concern over the deteriorating political environment and its implications for democratic governance and the upcoming 2026 General Elections. This letter also serves to validate and reaffirm the concerns raised by the Patriotic Front (PF) in their recent correspondence to your office.
This correspondence is additionally addressed to:
• His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chairperson of SADC
• His Excellency Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika, Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation
1. BACKGROUND
Several reputable international bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United States Human Rights Country Report, have documented serious and escalating governance concerns in Zambia, characterized by:
• Shrinking democratic and civic space
• Political intolerance and use of state institutions to persecute critics
• Suppression of freedoms of assembly, association, expression, and the media
• Decline in the rule of law and judicial independence
Zambia is scheduled to hold Presidential, Parliamentary, Mayoral, Council Chairperson, and Local Government Elections in August 2026. Under the current circumstances, these elections are at serious risk of failing to meet the standards of free, fair, credible, and democratic processes unless urgent corrective measures are implemented.
2. KEY CONCERNS
The New Era Democratic Party wishes to highlight the following issues:
1. Registrar of Societies Interference in NED Affairs
• Unlawful removal of the founding President from official party records, despite NED being newly established in October 2023
• Replacement with Ms. Exildah Mwenya in July 2024
• Pattern consistent with interference previously reported against PF and DP parties
2. Weaponization of Law Enforcement
Systematic targeting of opposition leaders, journalists, and civil society through arbitrary arrests, prolonged detentions without due process, and broad state intimidation.
3. Dictatorship Legislation
• The Cyber Security and Crimes Act (March 2025), passed secretly, is widely viewed as a tool for suppressing dissent and monitoring government critics
• The controversial Bill No. 7, reportedly adapted from Uganda, proposes provisions that consolidate ruling party power, including:
– Addition of 100 Members of Parliament
– Extension of the Presidential term to 7 years
– Other structural changes expected to be passed before 2026
4. Politicization of Public Service
Removal of qualified professionals and appointment of individuals based on partisan and regional interests.
5. Compromised Independence of the ECZ
Partisan-aligned appointments to the Electoral Commission of Zambia have severely eroded public confidence.
6. Interference in Opposition Parties
Alleged creation and support of parallel leadership structures to destabilize legitimate opposition organizations.
7. Violent Attacks on Opposition Offices
Notably the raid on the former ruling party Secretariat at Lumumba/Panganani Road in Lusaka, reportedly involving state security agencies and ruling party cadres, with no arrests or accountability.
8. Manipulated Constitutional Reform Process
A process rejected by LAZ, civil society organizations, and Church bodies, widely seen as engineered to influence the 2026 election outcome.
9. Detention of Opposition Leaders
Including Hon. Raphael Nakacinda, sentenced to 18 months for a speech offence, and many others denied bail pending appeal.
10. Suppression of Political Gatherings
Ongoing bans and disruptions of opposition gatherings under the pretext of “security concerns,” enforced through the Public Order Act despite government commitments to repeal it.
These actions violate the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, which uphold democracy, human rights, multiparty competition, transparency, and the rule of law.
3. REQUEST FOR SADC INTERVENTION
In the interest of preserving regional stability, democratic order, and peace, the New Era Democratic Party respectfully urges SADC to:
• Dispatch an Early Intervention and Fact-Finding Mission to assess Zambia’s readiness for credible 2026 elections
• Engage the Government of Zambia through preventive diplomacy, urging compliance with regional democratic norms
• Facilitate an inclusive national dialogue involving government, opposition parties, and civil society to restore public confidence in electoral processes
We remain fully prepared to provide verifiable documentation and additional evidence to support all matters raised in this letter.
4. CONCLUSION
Your Excellency,
Zambia has long been a beacon of peace and stability in the SADC region. However, unless immediate steps are taken to reverse the current trajectory, the nation faces escalating risks to electoral integrity, democratic governance, and social cohesion.
We therefore respectfully call on SADC to act in accordance with its mandate under:
• The SADC Treaty (1992)
• The Protocol on Politics, Defence, and Security Cooperation
• The SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections
to uphold democratic order and prevent further deterioration ahead of the 2026 General Elections.
Yours faithfully,
Signed
Pumulo Situmbeko
CERTIFIED HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE – USIDHR
Founder, New Era Democratic Party (NED)
#UPND #PF #NED #SADC
#Zambia
JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!
Another NGO.
As soon as she finishes building a house from donor money, she will dissapear.
What’s all this noise about
The 2026 will be unlike no other and will be closely watched the world over
It would be good to have frank discussions about this amongst ourselves even without engaging SADC. However our politics are broken, violent, mob-driven, tribalistic, self-serving etc. Add poverty and the low IQ of the general population and you end up with a quagmire called Zambia
Zambians are generally united, the ones dividing the country are politicians. As for the politicians, they even have an institution called the Zambia Center for Interparty Democracy, where the Republican President and Presidents of other political parties are supposed to be meeting from time to time to dialogue, but nothing is happening. The one who is supposed to take the lead seems very disinterested and yet he can go all the way to Tanzania to go and preach the need for dialogue, the dialogues he is not even having in his own country despite the tension
Zambia Center for Interparty Dialogue
You are quite right now you will understand *You reap what you sew”
I would suggest Bally to have an Indaba with all opposition parties. This would eliminate all these unnecessary noise. Remember some opposition parties are there to frustrate and embarrass the UPND leadership. Towards elections there will be so much noise for nothing and things will not be good. It’s better to be proactive because I see a lot of nonsense coming ahead. Let UPND strongly consider this timely advice.
What has said that is wrong or rubbed you on the wrong side? Is there a lie in her petition? Why are we so afraid of the truth? Why is it that when you have no inclination to politics or even your own rights, you want others to feel the same? There are people who are exposed and in so doing have learned the beauty of freedom and cherishing their rights and freedom. Let people who are not zoo minded like you, in that they want to enjoy their freedoms. Sorry, some of you have never visited a zoo or national park.
Wow. tough life. How can you live like a zoo animal and think others must enjoy their freedoms? All you know and believe is that you are zoo animal. No freedom. Freedom to you is a foreign phenomenon. It’s alien. Pumulo is a free lady and understands what freedom means. Some of you will die without knowing a single human right you are supposed to be accorded. All you know is the President thinks for you and all you do is OBEY. You obey him and forget that there’s a constitution and laws that all must obey. Not a person.
Njala njala njala.