Zambia schedules general election for 13 August 2026; SADC to deploy observers

Zambia’s general election is set for 13 August 2026. The Electoral Commission of Zambia lists the polls on that date and the Southern African Development Community has deployed a SADC Electoral Observation Mission to observe the 13 August 2026 vote, with a preliminary statement due shortly after.

The election outcome will condition fiscal-policy continuity and the government's stance toward debt-restructuring, official creditors and the IMF. That in turn would influence refinancing premia and duration risk on Zambia's sovereign eurobond curve: a mandate perceived as reformist could compress sovereign risk premia, while policy discontinuity could raise refinancing spreads and shorten investor risk appetite for long-dated Zambian bonds.

SADC SEOM preliminary statement on the conduct of the election, scheduled 15 August 2026.