Court stays ECZ order to drop ‘Candle’ symbol

LUSAKA — The ‘Candle’ symbol is back in play for five independent candidates after the Lusaka High Court stayed an Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) directive ordering them to drop it.

The order matters because campaign symbols are how many voters identify candidates on the ballot, and a forced switch weeks before the 13 August general election would have cost the five their recognised mark. The court froze the directive and let the candidates take the commission to judicial review. This story is part of Kwacha News’s continuing politics coverage.

The case was brought by Gary Nkombo, Simon Mwila, Michael Chuulu, Faith Lungu and Iris Kaingu Kamwi. They challenged a circular from the Electoral Commission of Zambia — Circular No. EC/101/1/29 of 6 June 2026 — which directed independent candidates to withdraw or replace symbols featuring candles, lamps and other light imagery on the ground that they clashed with a mark already allocated to a registered political party.

What the court decided

The Lusaka High Court granted a stay of the ECZ directive and gave the five candidates leave to commence judicial review proceedings against the commission. The effect is that the candidates keep the ‘Candle’ symbol while the court determines the main case, rather than being made to change it now.

Judicial review is the legal route for testing whether a public body acted within its powers. By granting leave, the court accepted that the candidates have an arguable case that the ECZ directive should be examined — without yet ruling on whether the commission was right or wrong to issue it.

The directive to withdraw the ‘Candle’ symbol is stayed, and the candidates are granted leave to apply for judicial review.

— Lusaka High Court order, 19 June 2026

Why it matters

On a Zambian ballot, the symbol does heavy lifting. For independents without a party brand, a recognisable mark is the campaign — printed on posters, painted on walls and pointed to at rallies. Changing it late in the race resets that recognition and hands an advantage to better-resourced opponents who can reprint at speed.

The dispute also tests how the ECZ exercises its powers. The commission says the light symbols duplicated a registered party’s mark; the candidates say the directive was unfair and want a court to weigh it. Kwacha News reported when the ECZ suspended campaigns in Mazabuka Central over violence, and the symbol case adds to the questions being put to the commission as the campaign sharpens.

For one of the five, the stakes are personal as well as procedural. Gary Nkombo is contesting as an independent after a fallout with the governing party; Kwacha News covered the UPND’s decision to suspend 13 Mazabuka members backing Nkombo. Keeping his symbol matters to a campaign built outside a party machine.

Background — symbols and the ballot

Electoral symbols are allocated by the ECZ and are meant to be distinct so that voters do not confuse one candidate or party for another. The commission’s 6 June circular argued that the candle and lamp images requested by independents overlapped with a symbol already on the register, and asked the affected candidates to pick something else.

The five candidates disagreed and went to court rather than comply. Their case is that the symbols had already been assigned to them and that the directive to change disrupted campaigns that were under way. The court’s stay preserves the position until the legal question is settled.

The episode sits within a wider pattern of pre-election friction between candidates and the commission. Kwacha News has reported the ECZ’s push for voters to verify information before sharing it as the campaign moves online, alongside the disputes now reaching the courts.

What to watch

The first thing to watch is the judicial-review hearing itself, where the court will decide whether the ECZ acted within its powers in ordering the symbol change.

The second is whether other candidates with contested symbols follow the same route to court, which would slow the commission’s standardisation of the ballot.

The third is timing. With nomination and symbol questions running close to polling day, the speed of the courts is now part of the election calendar — every stay and every leave granted shapes how settled the ballot looks on 13 August.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions readers have been asking about the ‘Candle’ symbol case. Short answers follow, drawn from the court order and the ECZ’s own circular.

What is the ‘Candle’ symbol dispute about?

In short, the dispute is about whether five independent candidates must give up the ‘Candle’ symbol the ECZ first allocated to them. The answer, simply put, is that the commission ordered a change and the candidates went to court. The key is that the High Court has frozen the order for now.

How does the court stay work?

The answer is that a stay suspends the ECZ directive while the case is heard. Analysis of the order shows the candidates keep the symbol, and were granted leave to apply for judicial review, which tests whether the commission acted within its powers.

Why is the symbol being challenged?

Simply put, the ECZ said the candle and lamp images clashed with a registered party’s mark and ordered a replacement. The data on the circular shows it was issued on 6 June 2026; the candidates argue the directive unfairly disrupted campaigns already in motion.

What are the candidates asking for?

According to the court filing, the candidates are asking for judicial review of the ECZ directive and for permission to keep the symbol meanwhile. Evidence before the court was enough for the judge to grant leave and stay the order.

Which candidates are affected?

Research of the case shows five independents are involved: Gary Nkombo, Simon Mwila, Michael Chuulu, Faith Lungu and Iris Kaingu Kamwi. Each had been told to drop the ‘Candle’ symbol before the court intervened.

Sources

Lusaka High Court order, 19 June 2026 (judicial review leave and stay of ECZ Circular No. EC/101/1/29). Kwacha News coverage: the ECZ’s Mazabuka campaign suspension, the UPND suspension of 13 members backing Nkombo and the ECZ’s call to verify before sharing.