Following the announcement by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) that the 2025 Mass Voter Registration exercise will take place from 13 October to 11 November 2025, in a six-phase approach across all 156 constituencies covering all polling stations as registration centres, CCMG is pleased to inform the public that it will deploy 336 observers to a nationally representative sample of 1,000 registration centres. CCMG will observe all phases of voter registration and will release a report after each phase. CCMG’s observation of the mass mobile voter registration is grounded in promoting credibility and integrity of the registration exercise. A credible voter registration and resultant register are critical in enhancing electoral integrity.
Drawing from CCMG’s extensive observation of the 2020 voter registration process, CCMG expects that the 2025 exercise will be transparent, inclusive, accessible, and efficient, to ensure broad public trust in the lead-up to the 2026 General Elections. As part of its preparations, CCMG has concluded training of its observers across the country and is awaiting accreditation by the ECZ. Despite the ECZ noting in the road map for the 2025 mass mobile voter registration exercise that accreditation would take place from 27 September to 11 October, to date no accreditation of monitors has taken place in any district. The failure to provide clear communication on accreditation to stakeholders and the failure to accredit monitors undermines the transparency of the registration exercise.
As the ECZ rolls out mass voter registration, CCMG has the following expectations:
- CCMG expects the ECZ to publish a detailed national deployment plan in advance, so that voters understand when and where to present themselves for registration, updating their details, or replacement of lost/damaged cards. CCMG further expects that any district-level deployment plans will align with the national deployment plan to avoid inconsistencies that could potentially inconvenience registrants. As registration centres will be open during different time periods, providing this information in an easy to access format, and on platforms such as the ECZ website, is critical. CCMG also expects that the ECZ will provide detailed information about its own deployment, including the number of staff, registration kits, and centres per province, district, and constituency. This is critical in ensuring transparency and accountability;
- In 2020, the ECZ deployed one staff person to 47% of registration centres and 36% of registration centres only had one registration kit. This caused long processing times for voters and, in the case of kit failures, closure of registration centres. In order to reduce processing time and register more voters, CCMG expects that the ECZ will deploy sufficient staff and kits to avoid congestion, especially in urban centres. CCMG expects that each centre should have at least two officers and a backup kit;
- It is CCMG’s expectation that the ECZ will haveregistration centres that are fully accessible to persons with disabilities by providing ramps, wide doorways, accessible toilets, and sign language interpretation. ECZ must ensure consistent recording of disability disaggregated data at all centres. CCMG noted during the 2024 Continuous Voter Registration exercise that six (6) out of the thirty (30) civic centres in Lusaka, Mansa, Solwezi, Kasama, Ndola, and Livingstone were either only accessible via steps/stairs or had poorly constructed ramps. Similarly, during the 2020 exercise, more than a third of registration centres were not accessible;
- In the 2020 voter registration exercise, the ECZ extended voter registration by 7 days across all centres in the last phase. This extension was not informed by analysis based on provincial average registration rates or ECZ targets. It is therefore our expectation that ECZ will use registration and target data to inform any extensions;
- CCMG expects voters will not sell or offer to sell their voter cards, that party supporters or officials will not buy or offer to buy voters cards as doing so is a direct violation of the Electoral Process Act. We expect that there will be strict adherence to the Electoral Code of Conduct by all stakeholders including citizens and that ECZ will strictly enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct; and
- CCMG expects that more stakeholders will be involved in not only observing voter registration but that there will be mass voter education alongside the exercise. Based on CCMG’s observation, past voter registration efforts have been undertaken with limited voter education and low participation of stakeholders.
Conclusion
In conclusion, CCMG calls on the ECZ to immediately make public the nation-wide deployment plan and accredit monitors/observers. CCMG also encourages the increased presence of political parties, CSOs, and faith-based organizations to monitor the exercise, and to encourage citizens to register or update their registration details. Their involvement is essential, as these groups represent diverse communities and bring unique perspectives that can help identify and address potential challenges within the registration process. By actively participating, stakeholders can contribute to a more transparent and accountable voter registration process, making it easier to detect irregularities or issues in a timely manner and to advocate for necessary improvements.
Finally, CCMG encourages all eligible Zambians to register, update their details, or replace lost or damaged voter cards during this critical exercise.
