VICE PRESIDENT’S LUAPULA TOUR SET TO DISRUPT NRPUP ECZ-ALLOCATED CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE
The Office of the President has scheduled Vice President Dr. W.K. Mutale Nalumango for a working visit to Luapula Province from July 5 to July 15, 2026, a period that overlaps with the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)’s official presidential campaign timetable allocating the province to National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Mundubile.
According to a letter dated July 4, 2026, signed by Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary Evans Mweetwa Sikabubba, the Vice President is expected to visit all 12 districts of Luapula Province, including Mansa, Samfya, Mwense, Nchelenge, Kawambwa, Chiengi, Chifunabuli, Milenge, Mwansabombwe, Lunga, Chembe and Chipili.
The visit is scheduled to run from Sunday, July 5, to Wednesday, July 15, during which District Commissioners have been instructed to prepare for the Vice President’s engagements.
However, the ECZ’s 2026 Presidential Campaign Timetable allocates Luapula Province to NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile between July 8 and July 12, as part of the structured campaign programme designed to ensure presidential candidates campaign in different provinces at different times.
The overlap has raised questions over how NRPUP will conduct its presidential campaign during the period.
Under the ECZ campaign framework, presidential candidates are expected to follow the allocated timetable. The Republican President and the Republican Vice President, however, undertake official government programmes and are not ordinarily bound by the presidential campaign schedule.
In practice, security arrangements surrounding official visits by the President or Vice President often restrict other political activities in the same locality, meaning opposition campaigns may be unable to proceed in areas where the country’s top executive leaders are conducting official engagements.
If implemented in that manner, NRPUP could face disruptions to campaign activities during part of its allocated campaign window in Luapula Province.
As of publication, neither the Electoral Commission of Zambia nor NRPUP had issued an official statement on whether alternative arrangements would be made to ensure the party fully utilises its ECZ-allocated campaign period.
The development is likely to reignite debate over the balance between official government programmes and the principle of providing all presidential candidates with equitable access to campaign opportunities during the election period.
Chongwe Times – 04.07.2026
