The day after the European Union's observers published their final verdict on the August election, the President received them. The Zambian Observer reported on Wednesday 4 November that President Hakainde Hichilema met a delegation from the EU Election Observation Mission led by its Chief Observer, Michael McNamara, thanked the mission for its observations and recommendations and for its congratulations on his re-election, and said his administration would continue to pursue reforms that strengthen democratic institutions and deepen cooperation with the EU. A TV Yatu report carried by the same outlet put the meeting on Tuesday 3 November.
Election observers play a critical role in strengthening and deepening our democracy.
— President Hakainde Hichilema, on meeting the EU Election Observation Mission, as reported by the Zambian Observer on Wednesday 4 November
The President was also reported as saying that a flourishing democracy is key to the Grow Zambia Agenda. The tone was warmer than the government's written reply to the report, in which the Chief Government Spokesperson, Elvis Nkandu, argued that observers do not have access to the intelligence, security and law enforcement information available to the State.
What the mission said this week
News Diggers reported on Wednesday that, at the presentation of the final report, Mr McNamara spoke of shrinking democratic space and growing signs of government control after the 13 August election, and cited the mission's media monitoring finding that ZNBC gave the President up to 96 per cent of its political airtime. The government questioned the findings, the report said, on the ground that the EU lacked access to security and law enforcement information.
The TV Yatu report carried by the Zambian Observer set out further points from the mission: concern at the lack of information about a raid on a private residence linked to the opposition leader Brian Mundubile and at the alleged use of lethal force in that operation, which the mission described as a source of public anxiety; a finding that the physical closure of access to the courts between 24 and 26 August curtailed access to justice and electoral due process; and concern that the Electoral Commission of Zambia has not published the results of the 13 August election. The same report said Mr Nkandu had challenged parts of the report as not reflecting the country's security situation, and had said some political actors and their supporters had been under investigation for some time over serious alleged criminal conduct.
Established and disputed
- Established — the mission's final report was published on 3 November; the President met the mission and pledged reforms (Zambian Observer, two reports)
- The mission's findings — ZNBC airtime of up to 96 per cent for the President, court closures of 24–26 August, unpublished results and the Mundubile raid (News Diggers, TV Yatu via the Zambian Observer)
- The government's reply — that observers lack access to security information and that investigations predate the report (News Diggers, Zambian Observer)
The meeting does not change the report's status: its recommendations have no legal force and are addressed to a government that has already said it disputes some of the findings. What it does signal is that the presidency wants to be seen engaging with the mission rather than only rebutting it. Whether that engagement extends to the mission's specific recommendations is a question for the parliamentary session now under way, which turns to the budget on Friday.
Sources: Zambian Observer, “PRESIDENT HICHILEMA VOWS TO DEEPEN DEMOCRATIC REFORMS” (4 Nov 2026); Zambian Observer (TV Yatu), “Lethal use of force in Mundubile raid, Makebi arrest mounting public anxiety – EU EOM” (4 Nov 2026); News Diggers, “EU, govt differ over election report, shrinking democratic space” (4 Nov 2026).