Zambian general election, 1978

General elections were held in Zambia on 12 December 1978. At the time, the country was a one-party state with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) as the sole legal party. UNIP was thus the only party to contest the elections; its leader Kenneth Kaunda was automatically elected to a fourth five-year term as President, 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,^[1] but 66.7% in the presidential election.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[3] In six constituencies (in which there were 87,482 registered voters) there was only one candidate, who was returned unopposed.^[4]

Results

President

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

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,026,127	80.7
No	244,719	19.3
Invalid/blank votes	44,763	–
Total	1,315,609	100
Registered voters/turnout	1,971,881	66.7
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	1,273,462	100	136	0
Registered voters/turnout	1,844,399	67.6	–	–
Source: Nohlen et al., African Elections Database

References

1. Zambia 1978 Inter-Parliamentary Union
2. Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p953 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
3. Zambia: 1973 and 1978 one-party elections EISA
4. Elections in Zambia African Elections Database