ECZ SHOULD POSTPONE NOMINATIONS FOR UPCOMING BY-ELECTIONS
By Sean Tembo – PeP President
1. Good morning fellow citizens. It is indeed a very sad day, having lost our 4th Republican President Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda last evening. President Banda was not just a luminary of this nation, but of the region and the world at large. As far as good men come, he ranked at the top of the spectrum. Always jovial, always cracking a joke, always attentive in listening, always speaking his mind, always kindhearted. If you visited him at his home during his retirement, he always made you feel welcome, always offering you something to eat every few minutes. Indeed, he was a great man. Zambia has lost and heaven has gained an angel. May His Soul Rest In Eternal Peace.
2. This brings us to the issue of the impending round of by-elections for Mongu Mayor, Katimba Ward in Monze District as well as Lukutu Ward in Luwingu District of Northern Province. The Electoral Commission of Zambia has scheduled this coming Tuesday, 15th March 2022 as the date for filing in of nominations. We strongly feel that ECZ should consider postponing the nomination day to a later date for two reasons.
3. Firstly, we are in a state of national mourning for our 4th Republican President and it wouldn’t be appropriate for the nation to start playing politics in the middle of such mourning. Besides, ECZ has plenty of time at its disposal to conduct these by-elections at a later time. Out of the 90 days within which ECZ must conduct elections after the declaration of an electoral vacancy, they have exhausted less than 15 days. We are fully aware of the fact that ECZ is one institution that often mistakes arrogance for integrity. They often think that when they are arrogant, then they will portray an image of high integrity. That is an absolute misconception. Arrogance and integrity are two totally different attributes, and in the case of ECZ, they have an abundance of the former and a deficiency of the later. In this instance however, we are hopeful that they will put their arrogance aside and consider rescheduling the nomination day for upcoming by-elections until after the national mourning of our 4th Republican President.
4. Secondly, we are aware of the fact that the Mongu mayoral seat was declared vacant and ECZ announced a by-election barely a week after the tragic demise of the former mayor in a road traffic accident. We know that the ruling UPND and ECZ are playing some kind of political game here by announcing the by-election so quickly and catching everyone in the opposition by surprise, but l personally feel that it was insensitive to the family of the late Mr Nyambe Matakala, the former mayor of Mongu. You see, when a person dies tragically such as in an accident, the pain on the family is far greater compared to if the person was unwell for some time. Therefore, ECZ should have allowed the family to finish mourning by giving them at least 3 weeks before allowing nominations and other by-election activities to commence. It is absolutely inconsiderate to the family to see people campaigning and singing songs as they try to replace their dearly departed relative at the office, barely days after the burial of their relative. I was going to raise this issue earlier, but l decided it would be a waste of time bearing in mind the well-documented arrogance of ECZ.
5. In the interest of humanity, let ECZ postpone the by-election nominations that were scheduled for this coming Tuesday.
Rest In Peace RB
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SET 12.03.2022