African Media Barometer Zambia 2017 Summary The year 2016 was momentous for Zambia as it was the first general election in which Zambians voted in five separate ballots: For the election of the President, the 156-member National Assembly, for over 1,600 Local Government Councils, and for the first time, directly elected Mayors and Council Chairs. A referendum was held alongside the general elections on the 11th August 2016 for Zambian citizens to determine whether the Constitution should be amended to enhance the Bill of Rights as stipulated in Part III of the Constitution. The Amendment was not passed due to the failure to meet the first threshold; for the referendum result to be valid, 50 percent of eligible voters had to participate. Only 44.44 percent (3,345,471) of registered voters cast their ballots in the referendum. Amongst those citizens who participated, 24.6 percent voted in favour of the amendment.1 The period in the run-up to the elections was characterised by the use of laws that dated back to the colonial era. There was bias by the state media in favour of the ruling party and the political and media landscape was marked by uncharacteristically high levels of threats, intimidation and violence. Journalism students of the Lusaka Star radio magazine of the University of Zambia were arrested by the police, shortly after airing a programme with a guest who spoke critically about the government. They were held for ten days for allegedly airing seditious material. The Post, a privately-owned newspaper which has been part of the Zambian media landscape for the last three decades, was closed down two months before the elections. Alleged tax non-compliance was cited as the reason for its closure. However, cynical analysts considered this action a ploy to force the closure of a critical and independent voice; a media outlet that was willing to take on the ruling party. The day after The Post was shut down, a new paper titled The Mast went out on the streets. A few panellists pointed out that it could be the rebirth of The Post under a new title, based on the fact that the masthead has a similar design, the writing style is familiar, as well as it being apparently owned by the wife of the owner of The Post. Immediately after the elections, two radio stations and a television station; Komboni Radio, Itezhi Tezhi Radio and Muvi TV, had their broadcasting licences suspended and their equipment seized by the Independent Broadcasting 1 The Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy (EISA) 2016 Referendum Results AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2017 7