Africa-Press – Zambia. The main opposition Patriotic Front has rejected the use of electronic voting in next August general elections.
Some members of Parliament that attended a stakeholders’ meeting with the Electoral Commission of Zambia said Zambia had no capacity at the moment to implement the project.
They cited among other factors energy power rationing which results into poor internet connectivity.
The Patriotic Front disclosed this in a post below published on its Facebook page:
This morning a number of PF MPs that attended a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of ECZ Mr Kasaro and his management team to discuss amongst many issues the concerns over the just started Voter Registration exercise.
During our discussions the following issues were brought to light.
1. Delay in release of Deployment Plan.
MPs expressed concern on the delay in the release of the deployment plan They explained that this has impacted negatively on the exercise
– ECZ noted the concern of the MPs and reassured them that they are monitoring the exercise with the hope that it improves in the coming weeks They further assured that the matter of the deployment plan will be reviewed next week.
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2. Absence of NRCs
MPs expressed concern on absence of NRC officers to work alongside ECZ officials in the exercise They recollected that the NRC exercise was earlier on done poorly and was stopped abruptly People were expecting that this could be resumed at the time of voter registration ECZ explained that they had expected the NRC officers to work alongside ECZ officials They acknowledged that even their field officers were concerned with the absence of NRC personnel in the field.
– The ECZ CEO assured MPs that he would engage NRC Department to ensure that this is resumed.
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3. Malfunctioning kits
MPs registered their concerns on the reports of malfunctioning equipment.
– ECZ acknowledged the challenges and explained that the equipment was recently procured and the staff were trained although this is the first time they are interacting with the public by use of the equipment They informed the MPs that they were monitoring the challenges and will take remedial measures to correct the problem.
4. Time lines
MPs expressed concerns on the timeline of four (4) days per Polling Station for the exercise as this appears too short.
– ECZ explained that this period was arrived at on the understanding that unlike in 2020 when ECZ was originating the new Electoral Register this exercise is just an addition to the Register aimed at capturing 3,000,000 voters According to their assessment the period set is sufficient to complete the process However it was indicated that ECZ will keep an open mind approach to ensure that the target is reached
5. Voter Education
MPs also registered their concerns over the absence or limited voter education which they noted was part of the electoral calendar
* ECZ acknowledged that this exercise was poorly conducted and realised that it should have been done way before the present exercise However this was blamed on limited resources on the part of Government.
6. Delimitation. MPs expressed concerned that the list of constituencies and districts per province earmarked for delimitation appeared to be a secret document when it should not. Further that there seem not to be enough time to complete a full consultative process as constitutional dictates & more so with chiefs whose boundaries may find split into difference constituencies.
* ECZ explained that their timeline been submitted to the ministry of justice and a matter that is not in their hands but the executive and legislature via the Bill 7.
7. Electronic Voting
MPs expressed concern that Zambia and Africa in general have no general capacity to conduct the announced computer based electronic voting, tabulation and counting. This more so with perpetual Loadsheding that affects internet connectivity and swift transmission of information.
*ECZ clarified that for next general elections in 2026, voting exercise and counting will be done manually exactly was done in 2021. Electronic voting is a project thereafter elections in 2031 and beyond.
**At the end of the meeting; MPs impressed upon the ECZ to address the challenges relating to the NRC registration and the malfunctioning equipment because these challenges will impact negatively on the desired voter registration exercise. Opposition PF MPs thanked the ECZ management for their time and clarification and hope to someday have a meeting with the ECZ Chairperson Ms Mwangala Zaloumis.
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