LUSAKA - Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) President Antonio Mourinho Mwanza has urged political parties to prioritise increasing voter turnout in their strongholds while minimising losses in areas where they have less support, describing the strategy as critical to winning national elections.
Mwanza said Zambia's voting patterns show that the Southern, Western and North-Western provinces collectively account for 2,256,822 voters, while Luapula, Northern and Muchinga provinces have a combined 1,852,620 voters.
He added that Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces, with a combined 2,727,335 voters, constitute the country's largest voting bloc, making them crucial in determining the outcome of presidential elections.
According to Mwanza, Eastern Province, with 1,129,444 voters, remains a decisive swing province capable of influencing election results.
"Eastern is more of a swing province," Mwanza said.
He further described Central Province, which has 820,079 voters, as a highly competitive electoral battleground.
"Central is a battleground province," he said.
Mwanza stressed that understanding Zambia's electoral demographics is essential for political parties seeking victory in national elections.
"The key is to significantly push the voter turnout and win by large margins in your strongholds and lose with respectable margins in your weakholds," he said.
He maintained that a successful election strategy should focus not only on winning support but also on ensuring that supporters turn out in large numbers on polling day.