General elections were held in
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
on 19 December 1968 to elect the
National Assembly and
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
. The first post-independence polls saw incumbent
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Diss ...
retain his post as president, whilst his
United National Independence Party, the only party to field candidates in all 105 constituencies,
[ won 81 of the 105 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 82.5% in the parliamentary election, but 87.1% in the presidential election.
The only other contestants in the National Assembly elections were the Zambian African National Congress (73 candidates), and three independents.][ The United Party, which had been established in 1966, was banned in 1968, with many of its members absorbed by the ZANC.][Zambia: 1968 Elections]
EISA The election campaign was marred by violence, with UNIP members in Northern and Luapula Province
Luapula Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces located in the northern part of the country. Luapula Province is named after the Luapula River and its capital is Mansa. As per the 2010 Zambian census, the Province had a population of 991,92 ...
s blocking ZANC candidates from lodging nomination papers, resulting in 30 UNIP candidates running unopposed.[ Nevertheless, the election saw a swing towards the ZANC; four ministers lost their seats.][Zambia 1968]
Inter-Parliamentary Union
In 1972, the Kaunda government announced its intention to make UNIP the only legally permitted party in the country. This was formalised with a new constitution that was promulgated in August 1973.The State of Political Parties In Zambia
National Democratic Institute, 2003 As a result, the 1968 elections were the last multiparty elections held in Zambia until 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
.
Electoral system
Of the 110 members of the National Assembly, 105 were elected by the first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
system in single-member constituencies, with a further five appointed by the President.[
The President was elected using a ]first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
double simultaneous vote
Double simultaneous vote (DSV) is an electoral system in which multiple offices – such as the president and members of a legislature – are elected through a single vote cast for a party. It can be combined with other electoral systems; in Uru ...
system; candidates for the National Assembly declared which candidate they endorsed for president when they lodged their nomination papers, and those who failed to do so were disqualified. Voters had only one vote, so that voting for a parliamentary candidate automatically meant also voting for the presidential candidate to which the parliamentary candidate had pledged. In constituencies where there was only one parliamentary candidate returned unopposed, all registered voters were "counted" as having voted for the MP's pledged presidential candidate despite the fact no actual voting took place,[ effectively disenfranchising them in the presidential election.
]
Results
President
National Assembly
See also
* List of members of the National Assembly of Zambia (1969–73)
References
{{Zambian elections
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
1968 in Zambia
Presidential elections in Zambia
Elections in Zambia
December 1968 events in Africa