1988 Zambian general election

General elections were held in Zambia on 26 October 1988. At the time, the country was a one-party state with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) as the sole legal party; as a result, UNIP was the only party to contest the elections. UNIP leader Kenneth Kaunda was automatically re-elected for a sixth five-year term as President with 95.5% of the vote, whilst UNIP also won all 125 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was around 60% in the parliamentary election, but 58.8% in the presidential election.

Two years later UNIP was forced to give up its monopoly of power as part of an agreement with the opposition. The next elections had been scheduled for 1993, but snap general elections were called in 1991 as a result of the agreement.

Campaign

Prior to the elections, primary elections 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. In total, 706 people stood for election to the National Assembly, of which 612 were approved by the UNIP central committee.

Results

President

Kaunda was the sole candidate for president, and voters voted yes or no to his candidacy.

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,414,000	95.5
No	67,000	4.5
Invalid/blank votes	48,000	–
Total	1,529,000	100
Registered voters/turnout	2,600,000	58.8
Source: Nohlen et al.

National Assembly

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
United National Independence Party		100	125	0
Presidential appointees	–	–	10	0
Appointed Speaker	–	–	1	0
Invalid/blank votes		–	–	–
Total		100	136	0
Registered voters/turnout	2,600,000		–	–
Source: African Elections Database

Aftermath

Following protests and riots in 1990, the constitution was amended to allow other parties to challenge UNIP in the 1991 elections.