Zambian election panel survey: Dataset of responses before, near, and after 2021 elections

Erica Ann Metheney; Ellen Lust

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2023.109073

Zambian election panel survey: Dataset of responses before, near, and after 2021 elections

Data Brief. 2023 Mar 21:48:109073. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2023.109073. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Erica Ann Metheney¹, Ellen Lust¹

Affiliation

¹ University of Gothenburg, Göteborg 405 30, Sweden.

Abstract

The Zambian Election Panel Survey (ZEPS) data allows for analysis of voter perceptions and choices in the August 2021 elections - and how these were affected by the tactics of the competing parties and candidates. The panel design provides an opportunity to study how, when and why former supporters of incumbent president Lungu 'defected' to support his rival, Hakainde Hichilema (HH) in 2021. This multistage panel survey, the first-of-its-kind in Africa, was implemented in three rounds; June 5 - July 5 (R1: n = 1665), July 15 - Aug 11 (R2: n = 1508), and Aug 25 - Oct 3 (R3: n = 1272). These time periods correspond to the early campaign period, late in the campaign period and immediate post-election period, respectively. The survey was conducted over the phone. Responses were disproportionately from urban/peri-urban voters in Central and Lusaka provinces and rural voters in Eastern and Muchinga provinces. 1764 unique responses were collected using SurveyToGo software from Dooblo. 1210 responses were collected for all three rounds.

Keywords: Elections; PF; Panel survey; UNDP; Zambia.