ZAMBIA
On Wednesday 25 November 2026, a coalition of Zambian civil society organisations (CSOs), meaning non-profit citizen groups, plans a peaceful march and public assembly to defend the Constitution. The groups told the Zambia Police Service, the national police force, about it in a joint statement issued in Lusaka, the capital, in the first week of November.
The march matters to US readers because Zambia is Africa’s second-largest copper producer and has reached a preliminary deal on a new loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global crisis lender. Its politics also touch the copper trade and the country’s borrowing costs, as we explained in our guide to who holds power in Zambia.
Key Facts
- What: Civil society groups plan a peaceful march on Wednesday 25 November 2026.
- Why: They want to keep Zambia’s two-term limit on the presidency.
- Trigger: Citizens petitioned parliament in late October 2026 to abolish term limits.
- Who: A coalition of civil society groups has notified the Zambia Police Service.
- Context: President Hakainde Hichilema is serving his second and final term under current rules.
Who Is Marching and Why
The coalition includes Chapter One Foundation, a constitutional rights group, and Transparency International Zambia, an anti-corruption watchdog. It also counts Caritas Zambia, a Catholic charity, and the Council of Churches in Zambia, an ecumenical body, among its members.
Other members are ActionAid, an international anti-poverty charity, and the Non-Governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC), an umbrella body for women’s groups. The list also includes the Zambia Council for Social Development, Free Press Initiative, Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation, Alliance for Accountability Advocates Zambia, LCK Freedom Foundation and Alliance for Community Action, all local civil society groups.
The groups say term limits are a safeguard against excessive concentration of executive power. They argue that the two-term limit protects the country from power gathering in one individual.
In Plain English
- CSO: A civil society organisation is a non-profit group of citizens. Here, a coalition of such groups is leading the march.
- Term limit: This is a rule that caps how long one person can hold an office. In Zambia, a president may serve two five-year terms.
- National Assembly: This is Zambia’s parliament, where laws are debated and passed. Citizens petitioned it in late October 2026.
What Sparked the Protest
In late October 2026, other citizens petitioned the National Assembly, Zambia’s parliament, to abolish presidential term limits among other proposals. The coalition opposes the aim of that petition.
The Constitution limits a president to two five-year terms under Article 106. President Hakainde Hichilema won a second term in the August 2026 election and was sworn in on 1 September 2026, so he is in his second and final term under the current Constitution.
In late September 2026, some figures in the governing United Party for National Development (UPND), Hichilema’s party, called for a third term or for removing the limit. Civil rights activists warned against it, and we found no public statement in which Hichilema himself calls for a third term.
Elvis Nkandu, the government’s chief spokesperson, urged the groups to rethink the march. He called the third-term debate imaginary.
The police response will be the first test of the plan. We found no police decision on the notice yet.
What It Means for You
For investors, Zambia’s politics now sit beside its economic story. Moody’s, the credit rating agency, recently raised the country’s rating to Caa1, a high-risk grade, and the IMF reached a preliminary staff-level deal on 9 October 2026 for a new loan of about US$1.5 billion.
That deal still needs approval from the IMF Executive Board. Political stability and the rule of law shape borrowing costs, so a calm, lawful march would be a sign of stability.
Readers with exposure to copper or African infrastructure should watch how the authorities handle a public gathering on a constitutional question. The outcome will show how much room Zambia leaves for dissent.
What Happens Next
The march is set for Wednesday 25 November 2026, and the first signal will be whether police clear it. Parliament’s handling of the October petition will show whether the term-limit question moves any further.
What Is Not Known
- Whether police will clear the procession, as we found no police response.
- The route and start time of the march.
- How many people are expected to turn out.
- Whether parliament will table the October petition.
- Whether the government will act on the petition, since we found no official proposal to remove the limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Zambia march planned?
The coalition notified police of a peaceful procession and public assembly on Wednesday 25 November 2026. We found no police response yet.
Why are the groups marching?
They want to defend Article 106, which limits a president to two five-year terms. They say the limit safeguards against excessive concentration of executive power.
Does President Hichilema want a third term?
We found no public statement in which Hichilema himself calls for a third term. In late September 2026, some figures in his governing party called for one or for removing the limit.
Sources: Joint CSO Statement on the Planned Peaceful Assembly in Defence of the Constitution and Presidential Term Limits, November 2026; Constitution of Zambia, Article 106; International Monetary Fund, announcement of a staff-level agreement with Zambia, 9 October 2026; statement by Elvis Nkandu, Chief Government Spokesperson, early November 2026; read on 9 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error