On Thursday, April 2nd, 2026, Dr. Frank Ngambi, the Patriotic Front (PF) Chairperson for Elections and Member of the Central Committee, announced that the party's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had successfully settled the dispute concerning the General Conference that led to the election of Lusaka lawyer, Hon. Makebi Zulu, as President of the party. The announcement came following a contested election held on Saturday, March 21st, 2026, where Makebi Zulu emerged as the winner of a heavily contested process.

Following Makebi Zulu's election, several of his contenders, namely Hon. Dr. Chitalu Chilufya, Hon. Given Lubinda, Hon. Dr. Chishimba Kambwili, and Hon. Greyford Monde, formally disputed the results. They signed a joint petition alleging general malpractice in the conduct of the election. Notably, Hon. Eng. Chanda Katotobwe was the only contender who did not formally object to the outcome of the election.

In response to the dispute, the Electoral Commission team undertook a rigorous verification process. They collected all serialized ballots cast and the prescribed Gen 20 forms from across the country. These documents were then subjected to thorough verification and a fresh tallying process. Additionally, the commission pursued all complaints related to alleged malpractice in the election process to ensure fairness and transparency.

Dr. Ngambi expressed satisfaction with the commission's findings, stating that the announced results matched exactly with the documents received and tallied. He confirmed that the entire process met the stringent criteria and controls set by the Independent Electoral Commission, thus concluding that Hon. Makebi Zulu was validly elected as President of the Patriotic Front. The petitioners have since been informed of the final determination, and all relevant documents are available for inspection.

This resolution, issued by Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba, PF Chairperson for Information and Publicity, comes amid broader leadership disputes within the Patriotic Front. Separately, Miles Sampa was recently declared the authentic party president by the Lusaka High Court. The High Court dismissed a petition seeking to overturn Sampa's election from an extraordinary general conference held on October 24, 2023, ruling that the applicants failed to prove illegality and that Sampa had acted within his rights to convene the meeting when the party lacked a functioning central committee.