Zambia Goes to the Polls: The Conversations Dominating Street Corners and Minibus Taxis
By Rodgers Mangwela| August 11, 2026
A minibus in Zambia can be many things at once: a means of getting to work, a classroom of political debate, a marketplace of rumours and, in election season, a rolling public opinion poll.
One passenger complains about the price of food. Another talks about cadres. Someone at the back brings up former President Edgar Lungu's body, still at the centre of a political and legal saga. Then the conversation shifts to opposition politicians who have been arrested or detained, before someone asks the question that has followed Zambian politics for years: Where is all the money going?
These are not necessarily the polished arguments heard at political rallies or in television studios. They are conversations shaped by household budgets, personal experiences, frustration, political loyalties and, sometimes, rumours.
But as Zambia prepares to vote on August 13, 2026, they offer an important window into the national mood.
The election is officially about choosing a president, members of Parliament and local representatives. On the streets, however, many voters appear to be asking a more personal question: Has my life improved enough for me to vote for more of the same?
President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking a second term, with opposition leader Brian Mundubile among the main challengers. Reuters describes the election as a test of Hichilema's economic record after Zambia's recovery from its sovereign debt crisis, while noting that many households continue to struggle with living costs.
That tension between improving economic statistics and the reality inside ordinary households runs through many of the conversations taking place across the country.
1. The cost of living: “But can I afford it?”
If there is one issue capable of cutting through party colours, it is the cost of living.
Ask commuters what worries them most and the discussion quickly moves to food, transport, rent, school requirements, electricity and the general cost of keeping a household running.
The government can point to falling inflation and improving macroeconomic indicators. Reuters reported that annual inflation had fallen to 6.5% in June, its lowest level in more than eight years, while Zambia's economy is projected to grow by 4.3% in 2026.
But economic statistics do not pay for a family's dinner.
The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection reported that its Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket for a family of five in Lusaka reached K12,051.64 in April 2026, up from K11,417.99 a year earlier. The organisation said that despite improvements in some economic indicators, many households continued to struggle to meet basic needs.
That is why the economic argument can sound very different on the street.
A government supporter may talk about debt restructuring, reserves, investment and economic recovery. A commuter may simply ask whether the money in their pocket can buy enough groceries.
For voters, both realities can exist at the same time.
Zambia can be recovering economically while a family is still struggling financially.
And that distinction could matter enormously at the ballot box.
2. Caderism: The political ghost Zambians do not want back
Few words carry as much emotional weight in Zambia's political vocabulary as caderism.
For many citizens, the word evokes political intimidation, violence, control of public spaces and the use of party youths to settle political disputes.
The memory is particularly powerful because it is associated with different periods and political parties. The 2021 election itself was fought against a backdrop of concerns about political violence and the influence of cadres.
Today, many Zambians are asking whether the country has genuinely moved beyond that political culture or whether it is merely changing its clothing.
The ruling UPND has repeatedly presented itself as a government committed to restoring the rule of law. President Hichilema has also urged his supporters to conduct the campaign with love and unity.
Yet opposition parties continue to raise concerns about the political environment.
Reuters reported that opposition figures have accused the government of restricting their ability to campaign and suppressing dissent, allegations the government denies.
That debate is now spilling beyond party headquarters.
In minibuses, people discuss whether Zambia's political culture has changed or whether the country is simply witnessing a different version of the same old struggle for political power.
For some voters, the question is not simply who will build roads?
It is also: Who will allow me to disagree without being threatened?
3. Edgar Lungu's burial saga refuses to disappear
Even in death, Edgar Lungu remains part of Zambia's political conversation.
The former president died in South Africa on June 5, 2025, aged 68. More than a year later, his burial has remained entangled in a legal dispute between his family and the Zambian government.
The matter has become more than a question of where a former president should be buried.
For supporters of Lungu, the saga is viewed by some as evidence of a continuing political conflict between the former president's family and Hichilema's administration.
The government, meanwhile, argued that Lungu should be brought home for a state funeral and burial alongside Zambia's other former presidents.
In June, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Lungu's family, saying they had the right to decide where he should be buried. The Zambian government subsequently indicated that it would not pursue another appeal.
The ruling means Lungu is set to become the first Zambian president not buried in the national cemetery since independence, according to reporting by Reuters and AP.
On the street, however, the debate is often less legalistic.
People ask why a former president's remains have been at the centre of such a prolonged dispute.
Others connect the burial controversy to the larger political relationship between Lungu and Hichilema — a rivalry that began during their political careers and survived Lungu's death.
In an election year, history rarely stays buried.
4. Arrests, opposition fears and the question of political space
The arrest or detention of opposition figures has become another recurring subject in Zambia's election conversation.
One of the most prominent cases involved Brian Mundubile, who was arrested in March and charged with aiding, abetting and counselling the commission of hate speech. Police said the allegations related to a Facebook page that they claimed he had supported. Mundubile was subsequently released on police bond.
Mundubile and opposition supporters have portrayed such actions as evidence of shrinking democratic space, while police have maintained that they are enforcing the law.
The issue goes beyond one politician.
In the months leading to the election, concerns about arrests, cyber laws and freedom of expression have become increasingly intertwined with the political debate.
The detention of ZNBC journalist MacPherson Mukuka in July intensified those concerns. Mukuka was detained after publishing an audio recording allegedly involving public servants discussing electoral activities. Police charged him under Section 10 of the 2025 Cyber Crimes Act, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Amnesty International subsequently called for his release, arguing that the case raised concerns about the possible chilling effect of the law on journalism and public debate ahead of the elections.
The significance of these cases is not merely legal.
In a democracy, voters need to believe that political competition is possible, that criticism is permissible and that the law applies equally.
That is why arrests involving political actors can become much bigger stories than the charges themselves.
They become questions about trust.
5. Corruption allegations: “Who is benefiting?”
Then there is corruption — perhaps the most enduring subject in Zambia's political conversation.
Every government comes into office promising to fight it. Every opposition eventually accuses the government of failing to eliminate it.
The current election is no different.
Supporters of the administration point to investigations and asset-recovery efforts as evidence that the fight against corruption is continuing. Critics, however, question whether enforcement is sufficiently consistent and whether political connections influence who is investigated, prosecuted or protected.
On the streets, the debate is often brutally simple.
People want to know why public money cannot translate into better services.
They want functioning hospitals, reliable electricity, decent roads, jobs and schools. They want public contracts to produce value rather than headlines.
And they want political leaders to be held accountable regardless of which party they belong to.
That is where corruption allegations become politically powerful.
An allegation is not proof of wrongdoing, and voters should distinguish between an accusation and a conviction. But repeated allegations can still influence public confidence in institutions and political leaders.
The broader frustration is about fairness.
Why should an ordinary citizen face consequences for stealing a small amount while politicians accused of mismanaging public resources appear to escape accountability?
That question is being asked loudly.
The election beyond the campaign rallies
Zambia's politicians are spending their final days trying to persuade voters with rallies, speeches, promises and carefully constructed campaign messages.
But another campaign is happening somewhere else.
It is happening inside minibuses travelling through Lusaka.
It is happening at markets.
It is happening outside shops and bars.
It is happening at bus stations, workplaces and street corners.
There, voters are not necessarily speaking the language of political manifestos.
They are talking about their lives.
They are asking whether their salaries can stretch to the end of the month. Whether political violence will return. Whether the country has genuinely moved beyond caderism. Whether Edgar Lungu's prolonged burial saga says something deeper about Zambia's politics. Whether opposition politicians can campaign without fear. Whether corruption will ever stop being a political slogan and become a problem that institutions genuinely defeat.
These conversations do not automatically predict the election result.
Nor should street opinions be mistaken for scientific polling.
But they reveal something important: Zambians are not voting only on what politicians say. They are voting on what they believe they have experienced.
The government can make its case using economic recovery, debt restructuring, investment and development.
The opposition can make its case using household hardship, unemployment, governance and political freedom.
Ultimately, however, voters will make their own calculation.
And when the ballot papers are finally counted on August 13, the result may reflect a conversation that has been taking place quietly for months long before the microphones were switched on at the rallies.
The most important political meeting in Zambia may not be happening in a conference hall at all.
It may be happening in the next minibus.
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