The Editor Zambia
As Zambia moves towards the 2026 General Election, one reality deserves serious attention.
Elections are not won through social media excitement, television appearances, or rallies in a handful of urban centres.
They are won by earning votes across the entire country. 
Based on the estimated distribution of registered voters, approximately 5.23 million voters (59.5%) live in rural constituencies, while around 3.56 million voters (40.5%) are in urban areas. This means that nearly six out of every ten registered voters are found in rural Zambia.
Against this backdrop, any political formation that has little or no presence in large parts of rural Zambia faces a significant electoral challenge.
Southern, Western, and North Western Provinces account for a substantial share of the country’s rural electorate. Yet these are provinces where Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance leaser Hon. Brian Mundubile and his political allies have, according to public reports and their own campaign patterns, devoted relatively limited campaign activity.
Equally notable is that the alliance has not fielded parliamentary candidates in 75 constituencies, many of them located in these and other predominantly rural areas.
This raises an obvious strategic question: How does a presidential candidate expect to secure a national victory while leaving such a large proportion of the electorate largely uncontested?
Presidential elections require more than popularity in selected regions. They require organisation, structures, polling agents, parliamentary candidates, local mobilisation, and sustained engagement with communities across all ten provinces.
Parliamentary candidates are often the backbone of a presidential campaign. They introduce the presidential candidate to local voters, coordinate campaigns at constituency level, and help maximise turnout on election day. Where there are no candidates, the campaign inevitably loses visibility, momentum, and organisational capacity.
It is, therefore, surprising to see some educated young people expressing confidence that victory can be achieved without this nationwide infrastructure.
Political enthusiasm is understandable, but electoral mathematics remains unforgiving.
The rural vote has historically played a decisive role in determining Zambia’s leadership. Ignoring nearly 60 percent of registered voters is not simply a campaign oversight; it represents a major strategic disadvantage.
Every election has surprises, and no outcome should ever be taken for granted. However, successful campaigns are built on national reach rather than regional concentration. A party seeking to govern Zambia must demonstrate that it is prepared to compete for every constituency and every vote.
In politics, hope is important. But hope unsupported by organisation, national coverage, and electoral arithmetic is rarely enough to carry the day.
