1968 Zambian general election

1968 Zambian general election

19 December 1968
President
1973 →
Turnout	87.12%
Nominee Kenneth Kaunda Harry Nkumbula Party UNIP ZANC Popular vote 1,079,970 240,017 Percentage 81.82% 18.18%
President before election Kenneth Kaunda UNIP Elected President Kenneth Kaunda UNIP
National Assembly
← 1964 1973 →
Party Leader % Seats +/– UNIP Kenneth Kaunda 73.19 81 +26 ZANC Harry Nkumbula 25.40 23 +13 Independents Hugh Mitchley 1.40 1 +1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

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General elections were held in Zambia on 19 December 1968 to elect the National Assembly and President. The first post-independence polls saw incumbent Kenneth Kaunda retain his post as president, whilst his United National Independence Party, the only party to field candidates in all 105 constituencies,^[1] won 81 of the 105 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 82.5% in the parliamentary election,^[2] but 87.1% in the presidential election.^[3]

The only other contestants in the National Assembly elections were the Zambian African National Congress (73 candidates), and three independents.^[1] The United Party, which had been established in 1966, was banned in 1968, with many of its members absorbed by the ZANC.^[4] The election campaign was marred by violence, with UNIP members in Northern and Luapula Provinces blocking ZANC candidates from lodging nomination papers, resulting in 30 UNIP candidates running unopposed.^[4] Nevertheless, the election saw a swing towards the ZANC; four ministers lost their seats.^[1]

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.^[5] As a result, the 1968 elections were the last multiparty elections held in Zambia until 1991.