The National Assembly is Zambia's unicameral legislative body. Between 1972 and 1990, Zambia was a one-party state with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) as the sole legal party.

Elections to the National Assembly are conducted under a mixed electoral system.Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act No. 13 of 2025). The assembly consists of 226 members directly elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system, alongside 40 members elected through proportional representation reserved for women (20 seats), youths (15 seats), and persons with disabilities (5 seats). The proportional representation seats are distributed to political parties by the Electoral Commission following a general election in a parallel way in proportion to the total number of valid votes received by each party's presidential candidate. Up to 11 additional members may be appointed by the President, provided the total number of nominated members does not exceed five percent of the constituency-based seats. The Speaker, First and Second Deputy Speakers, and the Vice President also hold seats in the assembly.

Electoral system Elections to the National Assembly are conducted under a mixed parallel voting (non-proportional) system, which has been falsely reported as "mixed-member proportional" (even in the constitutional text), despite being mixed-member majoritarian representation. Of the members of the National Assembly, 226 are elected by the first-past-the-post system in single-member constituencies, and 40 are elected through a proportional representation system reserved for women (20 seats), youths (15 seats), and persons with disabilities (5 seats). Proportional representation seats are distributed to political parties by the Electoral Commission based on the proportion of total valid votes received by their respective presidential candidate (without taking into account constituency seats, therefore being parallel, not mixed-proportional). Up to 11 additional members may be appointed by the President, provided the total number does not exceed five percent of the constituency-based seats. The Vice President, the Speaker, and both the First and Second Deputy Speakers also hold seats in the assembly. The minimum voting age is 18, whilst National Assembly candidates must be at least 21.

Location At the time of Zambia's independence in 1964, the National Assembly was housed in inadequate and unsuitable premises behind the Government's Central Offices in Lusaka, commonly known as the "Secretariat Area". It was, therefore, apparent at the time of independence that a more fitting building should be constructed to meet future expansion and also to provide adequate members’ sitting and office accommodations.

A site was chosen on the crown of a low hill in Lusaka, which dominated the surrounding landscape of the city. The site was also, at one time, the site of the dwelling place of the village headman, Lusaka, after whom the city is now named.

The new National Assembly building was planned so that its external appearance expressed the dignity and power of the Government, while internally, it is planned to function as a centre of administration. The focal point of the building is the Chamber, which is rich in decoration and colour, in contrast to the rest of the building.

2026 election results

The 2026 election was the first to be held under the mixed-member majoritarian system introduced by the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025 (falsely referred to as "mixed-member proportional" in the constitutional text). Previously, the National Assembly had 156 elected constituency-based seats. The amendment increased the number of constituency-based seats by 70, to 226; the ECZ announced the new constituencies on 16 April 2026. It also introduced 40 seats under the proportional representation system, comprising 20 seats reserved for women, 15 for youths and five for persons with disabilities. These seats are allocated by the ECZ to political parties in proportion to the total number of valid votes received by their presidential candidates, rather than being won through individual constituency contests.

The 40 proportional-representation seats were allocated as follows:

Women: 20 seats — UPND 17, NRPUP 3 Youth: 15 seats — UPND 12, NRPUP 3 Persons with disabilities: 5 seats — UPND 3, NRPUP 2

2021 election results

Previous National Assembly election results Political Party Election Year 1964 1968 1973 1978 1983 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 201620212026 United National Independence Party (UNIP) 55 81 125 125 125 25 - 13 -* - - - - Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) - - - - - 125 131 69 74 55 3 - -National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) - - - - - - - - - - - -76Resolute Party (RP) - - - - - - - - - - - -5Citizens First (CF) - - - - - - - - - - - -2Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) - - - - - - - - - - - -1 Patriotic Front (PF) - - - - - - - 1 44 60 80 59 - United Party for National Development (UPND) - - - - - - - 49 -* 28 58 82174 Alliance for Democracy and Development - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) - - - - - - - 12 -* 1 1 - - United Liberal Party (ULP) - - - - - - - - 2 - - - - New Heritage Party (NHP) - - - - - - - 4 - - - - - Zambia Republican Party (ZRP) - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - National Party (NP) - - - - - - 5 - - - - - - Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC) - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - Party of National Unity and Progress (PNUP) - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - United Democratic Alliance (UDA) - - - - - - - - 27* - - - - National Democratic Focus (NDF) - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - Zambian African National Congress (ZANC) 10 23 - - - - - - - - - - - National Progressive Party (NPP) 10 - - - - - - - - - - - - Agenda for Zambia (AZ) - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - Independents - - - - - - 10 1 2 3 14 13 - Others - 1 11 11 11 - - - - 11 - - - Total 75 105 136 136 136 150 150 150 150 159 156 167278 *UPND, FDD, and UNIP contested the 2006 election under the UDA alliance Italics denote defunct parties and alliances

See also History of Zambia Bibliography of the history of Zambia Politics of Zambia List of Zambian parliamentary constituencies List of legislatures by country List of speakers of the National Assembly of Zambia Legislative branch Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) The Constitution of Zambia

References

National Assembly of Zambia

External links