CCMG CALLS FOR ENHANCED TRANSPARENCY AND INCLUSIVITY IN APPOINTMENT OF ECZ COMMISSIONERS
The Christian Churches Monitoring Group-CCMG- is calling for urgent constitutional reforms to decrease the role of the president in the appointment process of commissioners at the Electoral Commission of Zambia-ECZ-.
CCMG Steering Committee Chairperson Bishop Andrew Mwenda says there is need for an appointment process which allows for, among other things, a public call for applications for any vacant commissioner roles with clearly outlined qualifications and selection criteria that entrenches the principles of independence, nonpartisanship, competence and integrity, including public interviews and transparent vetting.
Bishop Mwenda says CCMG is of the view that subjecting commissioners to a transparent recruitment process will not only enhance public confidence in the ECZ but also immediately address any concerns from the public on the standing of appointed commissioners, such as those expressed with the recent appointment of ECZ commissioners.
Bishop Mwenda has since called on government to undertake with haste the constitutional and legal reforms necessary to put in place a more transparent and independent recruitment procedure for the appointment of commissioners and to codify such a procedure in the legal framework.
President Hakainde Hichilema on Wednesday last week appointed Lusaka Lawyer Mwangala Zaloumis as ECZ Chairperson to be deputized by Ali Simwiinga and Macdonald Chipenzi as commissioner.
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