CHISHIMBA Kambwili says Electoral Commission of Zambia chairman Esau Chulu, commissioners Ali Simwinga, Emily Sikazwe and others will be foolish not to resign following the failure to capture nine million voters when the registration exercise comes closes this week.
Addressing the media in Lusaka, the National Democratic Congress leader said he has been on record advising the ECZ that it could not register nine million voters in 30 days.
He recalled that when he revealed his concerns during the presidential summit called by the ECZ, former Kitwe town clerk Simwinga dismissed his concerns.
“Simwinga argued in that important summit that they can register nine million voters in 30 days. We are now remaining with 10 days. If in the last 20 days they have only registered 4 million, it goes to say that in the last 10 days they can only do plus, minus two million, which will makes 6 million. There is no way we can allow an election in Zambia to go on with less than the number of people that the census has told us are eligible to vote,” Kambwili said.
He wondered how four million people would make a decision in a country with nearly 20 million citizens.
Kambwili insisted that ECZ has to capture all the nine million eligible voters otherwise there would be problems in terms of elections.
The former labour, sports, and information minister said he was disappointed with Vice-President Inonge Wina who has kept assuring the nation that ECZ would capture nine million voters in 30 days.
“And Electoral Commission of Zambia, Chulu, Nshindano must learn that when you are advised, you don’t have the monopoly of wisdom, you must listen from the voice of wisdom. We have advised them several times and I am even disappointed that the Vice-President keeps on going to Parliament – on Friday through the Vice-President’s Question Time – assuring the nation that ‘we are sure that ECZ will manage the nine million’…insoni Ee buntu, ala tapaba nsoni. All they can do is extend this voter registration to February so that the nine or 10 million people can be captured for us to have a proper representation of Zambians in the electoral process and election. There is absolutely no way that ECZ can register five million voters in the remaining 10 days,” he said.
“And I don’t know what is wrong with us Africans, Zambians in particular. Abasungu they accept defeat. If it was in Europe, they could have already said we are extending but here they keep saying we will assess at the end, but remember in that summit they said ‘we are not going to extend, there is no way we will extend’…twalamimona nomba. That’s why nga wabepa ubufi ufwile ukuleka (if you tell a lie you must stop), you must resign, that’s what morality calls for. So Simwinga, Chulu, ba Emily Sikazwe nabambi mu ECZ tulemilolela after 10 days mukacite resign. Nga tamucitile resign, ninshi mulifiwelewele (and others in ECZ, we are requesting you, after 10 days of the registration exercise, you must resign. If you don’t resign then you are worthless).”
Kambwili said the commissioners should be ashamed enough to resign.
“Remember what happened in England, one minister came late to give his statement in Parliament and by the time he was coming, the question had elapsed, he just stood up and said I am sorry to the British, I am sorry to Parliament and the Speaker and I am tendering my resignation for failing the people. Ebuntu (this is being human), that’s what we should be developing too. Nomba aba twakwata muno (now these we have here), ka allowance kalya kene bakwata ba (that little allowance) Chulu naba Emily kuti baleka (can they resign)? Simwinga, I was in primary school, he was working. Up to now alefwayafye ukulabomba, takwaba abantu bambi abengabomba, eco mulebepela ubufi pantu tamufwaya…(he just wants to be working, are there no others? That’s why you are telling lies),” he said.
And Kambwili said prisoners must not be allowed to vote.
He noted that people have complained about the Constitutional Court following the ruling that prisoners should start voting.
“When you are in prison, you lose certain liberties and surely the liberty to vote. I don’t know how many jurisdictions where prisoners vote. But why bring it in Zambia, where you know that the situation in terms of political democracy is in its infancy then you bring such a thing? Please leave the prisoners alone,” he said.
He reiterated his plea to President Edgar Lungu to pardon more than 10,000 prisoners on Christmas Day to reduce congestion.
“Abantu balala kwati masaka ya mbalala (people sleep like groundnut sacks). Look, there are some people like my brother Keith Mukata, he has been in prison and are doing a very good job with (Mathew) Mohan to try and help the prisoners to have a life after prison…those are people that must be considered for a pardon. I know he might have committed an offence but I think there must be a human face in everything that you do so keeping people in prison like bags of kapenta and bags of mealie-meal being transported from Kapisha to Chiwempala is not right,” Kambwili said.
He urged the government to pardon some prisoners if it was failing to provide adequate space.
Kambwili said to be in prison for just 10 days feels like two years.
“We don’t need to have people in prison for 25 years, those are archaic laws and they must be looked at. I was there for 13 days but it looked like 10 years. It’s punishment enough. They have already been punished. Don’t keep people in prison whom you can’t feed. Ama prisoners nga mwamona ifyo balya..beans iyabulamo cooking oil, iyabulamo tomato, ku iboilafye elo abantu nga wabalolesha balemoneka kwati kuntanshi ekunuma kunsala (if you look at how prisoners are fed, it’s boiled beans without cooking oil and tomato and people are hungry) and you still want to keep them, for what? In December Mr President, do the honourable thing, release…there are about 40,000 prisoners against prison space which is just for about 5,000 the whole Zambia, so it’s terrible. Ubuntu calls that you treat abantu as human beings so I am calling on the President to release as many people so that they can now go and register to vote and vote freely rather than keeping them inside,” said Kambwili./SM