A post on Facebook claiming the 2025 Constitutional Amendment Bill in Zambia is abolishing Presidential elections is FALSE.
Text accompanying the video states that “there will be no presidential election in 2026 and that the President would be elected by Proportional representation (PR), due to proposed changes in the 2025 Constitutional Amendment Bill. The speaker in this video claims that the 2025 draft Constitution introduces proportional representation (PR) for electing the President, effectively eliminating the need for a public vote in 2026.”
The post includes a short clip of Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema discussing Proportional Representation. The video is captioned with the words, “ Nabamidela ! No voting for presidents in 2026, says HH. changing the constitution.” These words which also contain Zambian local language phrases to mean, “They have taken advantage of you“ (Nabamidelela) and ‘HH” are abbreviations for Zambia’s 6th President, Hakainde Hichilema.
Zambia is currently undergoing constitutional reform. The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 7 of 2025 was published in the Government Gazette on 23 May 2025. It has generated significant debate, with the legal community, politicians, civil society, and citizens weighing in. While the Bill introduces a mixed-member proportional system for the National Assembly and local councils, it does not propose any change to the method of electing the President, as the Facebook user claims.
To verify the claim, the 2025 Draft Constitution (Amendment Bill No. 7) was reviewed, revealing that it does not propose to amend Article 101 (1-4) of the Constitution (Amendment Act No. 2 of 2016), which outlines how the President is elected. Since no repeal or replacement exists, the current direct presidential elections by the universal suffrage system remain unchanged. Therefore, there is no provision in the draft that states or implies that the President will be elected through proportional representation.
Also, the draft Constitution Amendment Bill does not repeal or replace Article 56(1), Constitution (Amendment Act No. 2 of 2016)—which governs election dates. Therefore, the current provision remains in force. Article 56(1) states: "A general election shall be held every five years after the last general election, except as provided by Article 81, and shall be held on the second Thursday of August."
The Bill contains no language suggesting the presidential vote is cancelled or replaced by proportional representation.
The Centre for Young Leaders contacted the Ministry of Justice Public Relations Officer Joe Nkandaani, who clarified that the claim is false and does not reflect the contents of the 2025 Constitutional Amendment Bill.
The clip of President Hichilema used in the video is taken out of context and does not refer to the cancellation of the presidential election by direct vote, as this keyword search reveals.
Results of the search led to a longer version of the clip captured at the commemoration of International Women's Day on 8 March 2025.
In the video, President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) did not propose cancelling the Presidential election or introducing Proportional Representation (PR) for the Presidential vote. Instead, he suggested applying PR to reserved seats for women.
While the draft constitutional amendment does propose a PR system, it applies only to additional quota seats for women, youth, and persons with disabilities, not to the Presidential vote.
🔴 FALSE: The 2025 Constitutional Amendment Bill does not propose to abolish presidential elections, nor does the PR system apply to Presidential elections but to the 35 additional reserved seats. The claim that there will be no presidential election in 2026 and that the president will be elected by PR is misleading and inaccurate.
This fact-check was produced by Mzeziti Mwanza as part of the African Fact-checking Alliance incubation program. It was produced with peer mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway. AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools.