DPP PRESIDENT SAYS TICK✔️ MARK CAN BE VALID ON BALLOT

DPP PRESIDENT SAYS TICK✔️ MARK CAN BE VALID ON BALLOT

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Antonio Mourinho Mwanza has said the law does not make the “X” the only mark that can be used to validly indicate a voter’s choice on a ballot paper.

Mwanza said there had been debate following the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s (ECZ) clarification that a ballot marked with a tick or another mark could be valid if the voter’s intention was clear.

He said the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016 focused on whether a voter’s choice could reasonably be determined rather than strictly requiring an “X”.

“Section 60 of the Electoral Process Act No. 35 does not say that a voter must use an X and that every other mark is automatically invalid,” Mwanza said.

He said Section 68(2)(d) provided that a ballot should be rejected where it was marked in a manner that made it impossible to determine the voter’s choice.

Mwanza further pointed to Regulation 46(2) of the Electoral Process (General) Regulations, 2016, which he said specifically addressed ballots marked otherwise than by a cross.

“It said such a ballot shall not by that reason be invalid if the intention of the voter clearly appears on it,” he said.

According to Mwanza, the regulations therefore recognised that marks other than an “X” could be valid, provided the voter’s intention was clear and the mark did not identify the voter.

“The 2016 regulations already contained the principle that validates other marks other than an X as valid as long as the mark clearly shows the candidate the voter has voted for,” he said.

He also cited the ECZ’s 2026 Election Trainer’s Manual, which he said provided for situations where a mark other than a cross clearly indicated the voter’s choice.

“The X is NOT the only mark that is allowed by law,” Mwanza said.

He maintained that ECZ was not breaking the law by recognising clear marks other than an “X”, arguing that the determining factor was whether the voter’s intended choice could be established.