Zambia: Bishops call on the country's peaceful history ahead of elections

The Zambian Episcopal Conference (ZCCB) urges non-violence as the August 2026 elections approach, drawing on the country's unique democratic tradition in Southern Africa.

The fact

On July 18, 2026, Vatican News (French and German editions) reports the joint call of the Zambian Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCCB) as the general elections scheduled for August 2026 approach. The bishops remind that Zambia is one of the few democracies in Southern Africa to have never experienced civil war since its independence in 1964, and urge voters and candidates to preserve this heritage through peaceful elections. The statement warns against ethnic hate speech, the manipulation of youth, and the use of public resources for partisan purposes.

Our reading

The ZCCB perpetuates here a tradition of civic engagement that dates back to the Church's mediation during the democratic transitions of 1991 and 2011. Under the impetus of Cardinals Adam Kozlowiecki and then Medardo Mazombwe, the Zambian Church has built a local political magistracy of remarkable consistency: refusal of the single party, defense of the conscience clause, denunciation of corruption. The present call fits into this continuity and joins the social doctrine of the Church, for which "democracy cannot be reduced to procedures: it is based on values, beginning with the dignity of each person" (Centesimus annus n° 46, John Paul II, 1991). Zambia, 95% Christian of which 20% are Catholic, offers one of the rare African examples of continuity between ecclesiastical speech and popular adhesion.

To ponder

As Southern Africa enters a tense electoral cycle (Malawi, Zimbabwe, DRC), the voice of the ZCCB reminds us that modern democracy needs the Christian roots it sometimes wants to forget. Let us pray for these bishops who, without clientele or noise, hold the line of the common good.