The 2021 General Elections took place on 12th August, and had the highest number of presidential contenders compared to any previous election in Zambia. The high level of interest in individuals wanting to serve at the highest echelon of governance was matched by citizens’ own high level of interest in taking part in the elections, with an impressive 70.6 percent of registered voters turning out to cast their votes. Civil society organizations (CSOs) also exhibited high levels of interest in taking part in different aspects of the electoral process, and Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) was not an exception. This report, therefore, gives details of TI-Z’s involvement in the 2021 General Elections, and makes key recommendations arising from that involvement. The report also makes an effort to provide an overview of the key issues that TI-Z observed through its network of election monitors spread across the breadth and length of Zambia. Our hope is that documenting these issues will contribute not just to the wider discourse around the 2021 elections, but to improvements in future electoral processes that Zambia will undertake. It goes without saying that this report is a result of the concerted efforts of many different entities, to which TI-Z would now like to express its deepest gratitude: the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), for the longstanding support to TI-Z’s work over the years; the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for the support to our political integrity work; the TI-Z Elections Committee, headed by the Chapter President, for the strategic guidance provided to our elections work; TI-Z staff at the Secretariat for the incredible sacrifices made in keeping the wheels of our election interventions turning; and last but by no means least, our team of election monitors across the country, including TI-Z members, for the dedication and zeal they demonstrated in doing their work, sometimes under very difficult conditions. The success of our elections work, as reported here, was built on the contributions of all these entities and individuals, and TI-Z is eternally grateful for it. We are convinced that our involvement in the 2021 elections allowed us to make valuable contributions to the electoral process in its entirety, and elevated the issues of good governance and corruption to a position of prominence in this electoral cycle. Our resolve to continue advancing the good governance and anti corruption agenda remains resolute, and it is our hope that we will be able to count on the support of our partners and stakeholders in future interventions of this nature. Thank you once more, and enjoy reading the report.
