{"id":82244,"date":"2026-04-08T21:43:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date"},"modified":"2026-04-08T21:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T21:52:10","slug":"ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date","title":{"rendered":"Ecz Rescheduling Presidential Nomination Fees Date"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>Citizens First has taken note of the Electoral Commission of Zambia\u2019s (ECZ) decision to reschedule the payment of presidential nomination fees to \u201ca date to be agreed upon by stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a matter of electoral practice, this is a welcome and correct decision. A credible election requires reasonable timelines that allow all players to participate. On that principle, we commend the Commission.<\/p>\n

However, we are compelled to state the obvious: this flexibility did not arise from the written complaints submitted by opposition political parties and civil society over the past months. Those concerns were not acknowledged. No stakeholder meeting was called.<\/p>\n

The record is clear. ECZ only moved to reschedule after the UPND failed to hold its elective convention by the date it publicly set for itself, and it became logistically impossible for the ruling party to meet the original calendar. That is when \u201cconsultation\u201d suddenly became necessary.<\/p>\n

That sequence of events is damaging to the Commission\u2019s standing. It feeds the perception that ECZ responds to the ruling party\u2019s difficulties, not to the law or to all stakeholders equally. In an election year, perception shapes confidence. And confidence, once lost, is difficult to restore before 13th August 2026.<\/p>\n

Let us be clear: Citizens First is ready. Our national convention was held in full compliance with the law. Our candidates are adopted. Our nomination fees are secured. We do not require shifting goalposts to participate.<\/p>\n

But Zambia requires an ECZ that is impartial in both fact and appearance. Article 229 of the Constitution mandates the Commission to act \u201cwithout fear, favour or prejudice.\u201d It does not say \u201cwithout inconvenience to the ruling party.\u201d<\/p>\n

We therefore call upon ECZ to take three immediate steps to restore confidence:<\/p>\n

1. Publish the basis for rescheduling the nomination date, so all political parties understand the rules applied.<\/p>\n

2. *Convene the stakeholder meeting within 7 days with a public agenda, and circulate minutes to all parties.<\/p>\n

3. Commit publicly that no further changes to the electoral calendar will be made except through written agreement of all stakeholders.<\/p>\n

It is our sincere view that ECZ can still deliver a credible election. That outcome depends on consistent, professional conduct from today until polling day. The Commission must remember: you do not work for UPND. You work for 20 million Zambians.<\/p>\n

We urge the Church, the Law Association of Zambia, civil society, and international observers to remain vigilant.<\/p>\n

Citizens First remains committed to a peaceful, free, fair, and credible election on 13th August 2026. We will be on the ballot. We will be ready.<\/p>\n

Issued by:<\/p>\n

Stanley Mhango<\/p>\n

Presidential Campaign Manager and MCC<\/p>\n

Citizens First<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. Citizens First has taken note of the Electoral Commission of Zambia\u2019s (ECZ) decision to reschedule the payment of presidential nomination fees to \u201ca date to be agreed upon by stakeholders.\u201d As a matter of electoral practice, this is a welcome and correct decision. A credible election requires reasonable timelines that allow all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-82244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nEcz Rescheduling Presidential Nomination Fees Date - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Citizens First has taken note of the Electoral Commission of Zambia\u2019s (ECZ) decision to reschedule the payment of presid ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ecz Rescheduling Presidential Nomination Fees Date\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Citizens First has taken note of the Electoral Commission of Zambia\u2019s (ECZ) decision to reschedule the payment of presid ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T21:43:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T21:52:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2026\/04\/sm_1775685076.67539.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"669\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ecz Rescheduling Presidential Nomination Fees Date\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-08T21:43:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-08T21:52:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date\"},\"wordCount\":449,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2026\/04\/sm_1775685076.67539.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/ecz-rescheduling-presidential-nomination-fees-date\",\"name\":\"Ecz Rescheduling Presidential Nomination Fees Date - 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