WHY BA ECZ PRINT MORE BALLOT PAPERS THAN THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS
ECZ has conducted elections this way for years. In its voter education materials dating back to at least 2016, the Commission clearly explains that a voter who accidentally spoils a ballot paper is entitled to receive a replacement. That is one of the reasons ECZ prints additional ballot papers and in case of any unforeseen eventualities, for example, if a vehicle carrying ballot papers is involved in an accident and the ballot papers are destroyed, the extra ballots can be used to replace the damaged ones.
More importantly, in every election, ECZ follows the same accountability process. At the end of voting, ECZ requires officials to account for:
1. Ballot papers issued to voters
2. Unused ballot papers
3. Spoilt ballot papers
3. Rejected ballot papers
These must all add up to the total number of ballot papers issued. If they don’t, there is a problem that must be explained.
So the mere existence of extra ballot papers is not evidence of rigging. It is part of the election management process that has been in place across previous elections. Anyone who has participated in elections monitoring, elections observation or indeed anyone who has contested elections as a candidate knows this fact very well.
The question that should always be asked is not whether extra ballot papers exist—but whether every ballot paper is properly accounted for. That is the real test of electoral integrity.
Let’s be honest, objective and factual in our debates. We only have one country. Let’s preserve it with everything we have.
Antonio Mourinho Mwanza
Thursday, 2 July 2026
Very good and elaborate explanation Mr. Meanza, on this one I give you a big kwenyu. Some people just speak and argue from without. They just make noise for others.