A silent revolution. Zambia’s 2021 General Election

Abstract

This paper discusses Zambia’s 2021 election which was held in a context of democratic backsliding and poor economic performance. The election resulted in Zambia’s third alternation of power between political parties since the democratic wave of the 1990s. The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) used its incumbent advantages to control institutions that were crucial for promoting democracy and ensuring a credible election. The election was also characterised by political violence which limited the ability for the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) to mobilise freely. Further, an Afrobarometer survey conducted in December 2020 showed that half of all citizens surveyed were unwilling to declare who they would vote for, thereby suppressing the extent of UPND’s support. Yet, the UPND won 59% in the presidential election and won the most parliamentary seats in an election that had one of the highest voter-turnouts since the advent of Zambia’s multi-party democracy. This paper argues that there was a ‘silent revolution’ in Zambia that resulted in the defeat of the PF. It also shows that Zambian citizens have not been complacent in the face of democratic backsliding.