Ballot papers for the Kasama Mayoral by-election slated for January 29, 2026, have arrived in the country.

The ballot papers arrived yesterday evening in Lusaka at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, witnessed by representatives from participating political parties, including Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and the United Party for National Development (UPND).

ZANIS reports that Electoral Commission of Zambia, Electoral Officer, Alick Chakawa was on hand to receive the ballot papers.

Meanwhile, verification of the ballot papers took place in Lusaka today at the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Head Office.

Forum for Democracy Development, Deputy National Secretary George Phiri, commended ECZ for exhibiting traits of transparency.

“Elections are about perception, and if the perception from the onset is that transparency is attributed to it, then all of us are going into this race only waiting for the people to judge who the winner is going to be,” he said.

Mr Phiri urged other participating parties to intensify campaigns ahead of the election.

“For ECZ, we say keep it up, keep engaging stakeholders, and let us encourage this transparency to go on, it’s the only way we can build our Zambia and have a better Zambia for our children,” Mr Phiri added.

Meanwhile, United Party for National Development (UPND) Representative Sitali Lutangu, said the verification process was transparent and successfully accomplished.

And, Socialist Party (SP) Representative Reverend Moddy Chisha, also stated that the verification was successively conducted.

Citizens First (CF) Secretary General, Vincent Chintu, expressed happiness with the transparency of the process, as he confirmed that the candidate for the party is on the ballot paper.