09/08/2026
Cite the law that mentions a TICK: The cross, the law, and the ECZ
By Sishuwa Sishuwa
In Zambia, the only prescribed manner of marking a ballot paper when casting one’s vote in a polling station is using a cross. This is provided for in Regulation 33 (d) of the Electoral Process (General) Regulations of 2016, which provides for the procedure for casting a vote at a polling station. This regulation clearly stipulates that “the voter shall, on receiving the ballot paper, enter one of the compartments provided in the polling station for that purpose and signify the vote by secretly marking the
ballot paper with a CROSS a in the appropriate place and shall then fold the ballot paper in such a way that the official mark stamped on it is visible and the mark signifying the vote is not visible”.
A CROSS is a written mark (X or +) formed by two lines going across each other. A TICK or any mark other than a CROSS is not prescribed by law. That is the position of the law ahead of Thursday’s general election.
For further reading, click here:https://media.zambialii.org/media/legislation/41584/source_file/a9f425fe2a185b14/zm-act-si-2016-63-publication-document.pdf
Let me restate the point. The law, namely the Electoral Process General Regulations of 2016, specifically prescribes a CROSS as the legal mark for use when casting one’s ballot in a polling station. I challenge any person to cite a law that mentions a TICK or provides for the use of a TICK in place of a cross. Even in Tanzania, where a tick is provided for, the law explicitly states that a voter can use a tick or a cross. It is not open-ended.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) operates on the basis of what the law says. If a tick is acceptable, even if it is not provided for by law, then what would happen if each of the 8m certified voters used a mark that is different from a tick and a cross? Why would the ECZ accept one mark that is not provided for in the law and reject another mark that is equally not provided for in the law? There will be chaos.
There is a reason why the law provides for specifics. It is to create what is standard and remove subjectivity. If each person can do whatever they want, it means those regulations that provide for the CROSS mean nothing. One can never give a provision of the law an interpretation that would make it redundant. This is a known basic legal principle.
Since the 1969 referendum, Zambians have voted using a cross in form of an X. There is no need for the ECZ to confuse voters at the eleventh hour by making accommodations that are not explicitly prescribed by the law. Let the Commission stick to the specific mark that is prescribed by law. Last minute manoeuvres by the electoral authorities just feed suspicion and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
Already, there are some people who are saying that there are ballot papers that were printed in Tanzania and that the people who were hired to pre-mark the said ballot papers messed up by putting a TICK (as used in Tanzania) instead of a CROSS. Since it was too late to correct the error by ordering fresh ballots, it is said that the ECZ okayed the use of a TICK, even if the law only prescribes the use of a CROSS, to facilitate vote manipulation or industrial scale vote-rigging. I don’t believe these reports because I am yet to see any supporting evidence, but I can see why people would be suspicious.
I have also seen a few people making the claim that Section 60 as amended in 2026 now empowers voters to use a TICK, in addition to a cross. This is totally false.
The amendment to Section 60 (6) has not changed the substantive provisions of the Electoral Process Act. The only reason section 60 (6) was amended this year was to correct a misprint or typo in the numbering of subsection 6. The 2016 Act had subsection 6 which was numbered a, b, c, d, f. The original 2016 provision skipped e. All that has been corrected in the 2026 amendment is that the numbering now reads correctly as a, b, c, d, e. The substantive provisions of Section 60 have not changed. The lawmakers only changed the numbering that was the problem.
I have produced below the text of the 2016 version of Section 60 and the 2026 amended version.
Here is Section 60 (6) according to the 2016 Electoral Process Act.
6. A voter shall, once the voter has received a ballot paper marked under subsection (5) (c) —
(a) enter an empty voting compartment;
(b) mark the ballot paper in a way that indicates the candidate the voter wishes to vote for
(c) fold the ballot paper to conceal the voter’s vote;
(d) cast the ballot paper in the ballot box; and
(f)without delay leave the voting station
Here is Section 60 (6) according to the 2026 Electoral Process Amendment Act.
6) A voter shall, once the voter has received a ballot paper referred to under subsection (5)
(a) enter an empty voting booth;
(b) mark the ballot paper in a way that indicates the candidate the voter intends to vote for;
c) fold the ballot paper to conceal the voter’s vote;
(d) cast the ballot paper in the ballot box; and
(e) without delay, leave the voting station.
Another minor misprint or typo that was corrected is the removal of c from the 5c in the main sentence introducing the provision.
Please note that the Electoral Process Act 2016 as amended in 2026 and the Electoral Process (General) Regulations, 2016 do not conflict with each other. They are complementary. The Act, in Section 60 (b), provides a general framework for indicating the choice of candidate the voter intends to vote for – that it is by way of showing a MARK on a ballot paper. The General Regulations, particularly Regulation 33 (d), flows from Section 60 (b) by prescribing the specific mark to be used – that is a CROSS.
Please note that the General Regulations have not changed since 2021 when they were last amended. The 2021 amendment did not change the use of the cross as the prescribed mark for voting. Note further that an Act is made by Parliament, while General Regulations are made by Electoral Commission of Zambia and come into effect through a Statutory Instrument after they have been published for the required 30 days in the government gazette. Since there is currently no parliament and elections are a few days away, no amendments can be made to either the Act or the General Regulations before the election day. This means that Zambia is heading into Thursday’s election with the cross as the prescribed mark for use when casting one's vote on a ballot paper.
Source: https://x.com/ssishuwa/status/2086347534633402662?s=20
