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 12 December 1978. At the time, the country was a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
with the
United National Independence Party (UNIP) as the sole legal party. UNIP leader
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 ...
was automatically elected to a fourth five-year term as
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 ...
, with 80.7% of voters voting to confirm him in office. UNIP also won all 125 seats in the
National Assembly. Voter turnout was around 65% in the parliamentary election, but 66.7% in the presidential election.
Campaign
Prior to the elections,
primary elections
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...
were held to elect candidates for the 125 constituencies. Only UNIP members could vote in the primaries, and the top three candidates would be able to stand for the National Assembly election.
[Zambia: 1973 and 1978 one-party elections]
EISA However, 30 candidates who had won primaries, including six sitting MPs, were vetoed by the party's central committee. In total, 732 people stood for election to the National Assembly.
[ In six constituencies (in which there were 87,482 registered voters) there was only one candidate, who was returned unopposed.]
African Elections Database
Results
President
Kaunda was the sole candidate for president, and voters voted yes or no to his candidacy.
National Assembly
See also
*
List of members of the National Assembly of Zambia (1978–83)
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 ...
1978 in Zambia
1978
One-party elections
1978
1978
December 1978 events in Africa