By Daily Revelation Correspondent
Luena Independent aspiring member of parliament Mwala Kalaluka says the unlawful omission of his name from the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s list of validly nominated parliamentary candidates for Luena Constituency is a ploy to rig the 2026 election before the first ballot is cast.
Kalaluka stated in a press statement availed to Daily Revelation Zambia that he has since written to the Electoral Commission of Zambia through the Chief Electoral Officer to immediately include his name on the nomination list and subsequently the ballot paper in respect of Luena Constituency.
He stated that on 22nd May, 2026, he was validly nominated as a candidate for the Luena Constituency parliamentary election, after duly filing his nomination papers before the Returning Officer at Mukola Community School in Limulunga Royal Village, Limulunga district.
However, Kalaluka said on May 29, 2026, in order to pave way for some discussions among the UPND Alliance leaders pertaining to his having filed as an independent candidate in Luena Constituency, he withdrew from the race.
“Nonetheless, I rescinded my decision to withdraw from the parliamentary contest on June 4, 2026 through a letter to the Limulunga District Electoral Officer. This was barely three days after I withdrew,” he stated. “The decision to rescind my withdrawal from the Luena Constituency parliamentary election came after a further read of the Electoral Act, precisely Section 31(2) showed that my withdrawal was invalid to the effect that it was done after the expiry of the nomination period when it should be before.”
Kalaluka stated that the cited section of the Electoral Act states that a withdrawal of a nomination to any electoral position can be submitted to the Returning Officer, any time before the expiry of the nomination period.
“That being the case, my withdrawal was invalid in view of above-cited section of the Electoral Act, since it was done a week after the close of the nomination process for the 2026 Luena Constituency parliamentary election. As such, my nomination as a candidate in the Luena Constituency parliamentary election for 2026 remained valid to the extent of the invalid withdrawal,” he stated in part. “It should be noted here that despite numerous follow ups at the office of the District Electoral Officer, the ECZ never availed me any physical response to both my notification for withdrawal, which was invalid for the above-stated reasons, and my letter to rescind my withdrawal, which was duly submitted to the Electoral Commission of Zambia for administrative convenience only.”
Kalaluka stated that it was on that basis that he proceeded to take an active participation in the political campaigns for the 2026 Luena Constituency parliamentary election, and that he was at all material time in consultation with the Electoral Commission of Zambia in this undertaking till now.
“During the course of my electoral campaign in Luena Constituency, and where my popularity has become apparent, there was no time I received any official communication from the Electoral Commission of Zambia directing me to halt my campaigns,” the statement read further. “Further, the Returning Officer for the Luena Constituency parliamentary election was in constant touch with me over activities relating to this particular election. One such activity was the ZNBC-organised parliamentary candidates’ debate held at Mukola Community School in Limulunga Royal Village. I even applied and obtained a police permit to conduct a public rally in Limulunga Royal Village on 25th July, 2026 following discussions with another independent candidate. Equally, I was officially availed the official ECZ campaign time-table by the Returning Officer.”
However, on July 22, 2026, whilst he was on the campaign trail in Nangula Ward of Luena Constituency, Kalaluka said he was called by someone from his campaign team back in Limulunga Royal Village, that a group of UPND cadres had gone to his campaign centre and were attacking and assaulting my supporters whilst damaging window panes and other items.
“They were ordering my campaign team to vacate the premises because I was not on the ballot paper for the Luena Constituency parliamentary election,” he indicated. “The UPND cadres were referring to a document posted on various social media platforms showing names of validly nominated 2026 parliamentary candidates for Luena Constituency, on which my name was omitted. The omission of my name on that document is what motivated the UPND cadres to stage the attack at our campaign office and to engage in celebratory activities around Limulunga Royal Village. The matter relating to the attack by the UPND cadres was reported to the police and is under consideration before the Limulunga District Electoral Conflict Management Committee.”
Kalaluka stated that the unlawful omission of his name from the list of validly nominated parliamentary candidates in Luena Constituency has caused massive apprehension and anxiety among his supporters across the 13 wards of Luena Constituency.
“Thus, on 24th July, 2026, I personally wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer notifying him of that omission and requested his office to immediately include my name and symbol on the list of validly nominated parliamentary candidates for Luena Constituency, and that the same should reflect on the ballot paper in respect of Luena Constituency,” he stated further. “But given the fact that the Electoral Commission of Zambia never availed me physical responses to the invalid withdrawal and the administrative-convenient rescission of the invalid withdrawal, I can conclude that my omission from the list of nominated parliamentary candidates for Luena Constituency, and possible removal from the ballot paper, is a politically-engineered ploy by some within the UPND working in collusion with the Electoral Commission of Zambia to prevent the people of Luena Constituency from exercising their full democratic rights to choose a Member of Parliament of their choice in this election. The idea to deprive me of this critical information during the campaign period was possibly meant to only catch me unawares as August 13, 2026 drew closer.”
He stated that he was fully convinced this was the case, because three weeks prior to the UPND cadres’ attack at his campaign office in Limulunga Royal Village, and to the publication of the above-cited list of parliamentary candidates, UPND National Youth Chairperson, Gilbert Liswaniso, while campaigning in Luena Constituency consistently told the people that those supporting me were wasting their time because I was not going to be on the ballot paper.
“To date, the UPND campaign team in Luena Constituency is taunting and mocking my supporters across the Constituency that I am not on the ballot paper. Further, these fears that the UPND and the Electoral Commission of Zambia are working to rig the 2026 parliamentary election in Luena Constituency even before the first ballot is cast, was confirmed after I received a document from a gentleman within the UPND circles purporting to show a letter dated 10th June, 2026 and signed by the Chief Electoral Officer confirming my 29th May, 2026 withdrawal from Luena Constituency parliamentary race, which as earlier stated was invalid,” he continued. “Once more for the record, I have never received any physical response to both my invalid withdrawal and administrative-convenient rescission of this invalid withdrawal from the Electoral Commission of Zambia. How then did a document signed by the Chief Electoral Officer purportedly confirming my invalid withdrawal find itself within the UPND circles when the party had no interest in the matter?”
Kalaluka pointed out that connecting with what Gilbert Liswaniso and the UPND campaign team have been saying in respect of his valid nomination and the possibility of not featuring on the ballot paper for Luena Constituency, it was easy to conclude that this was a matter of political engineering meant to disadvantage the people of Luena Constituency in the August 13, 2026 election.
“My omission from the list of validly nominated parliamentary candidates for Luena Constituency is, therefore, not only unlawful but irrational, unreasonable, unjust, and a flagrant disregard for administrative law, which guides constitutional office holders in the execution of their constitutionally-mandated functions. The Electoral Commission of Zambia, particularly the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. Brown Kasaro, failed to act judiciously in this matter. My inclusion on the list of validly nominated parliamentary candidates for Luena Constituency and subsequently the ballot paper as per my request to the ECZ is a matter of law, nothing else. At no time was my nomination invalidated. An invalid act cannot invalidate a valid decision such as my having successfully filed my nomination papers to contest as one of the parliamentary candidates in Luena Constituency in the forthcoming general election,” Kalaluka argued. “To this extent, even as we await the response from the Electoral Commission of Zambia, as regards my omission from the list of validly nominated parliamentary candidates for Luena Constituency, Zambia’s 2026 General Election will be far from being free, fair, and credible if the people of Luena Constituency are hindered from exercising their full democratic rights by choosing a leader they believe will carry their developmental aspirations forward, especially after hearing his message during the ongoing campaign period, which ends at 18:00hrs on 12th August, 2026.”
He called upon all progressive forces in Zambia and beyond to take keen interest in what is happening in Luena Constituency ahead of the 2026 general election, and to defend the people of Luena Constituency’s rights to freely participate in this election without unwarranted political interference from some within the UPND party.
