Press | Statement: The ECZ Online Voter Pre-Registration Process And Plans To Establish A New Voters’ Roll.
Lusaka – 1st October, 2020.
1. As Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP), we have been following with great interest the debate about how the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is conducting its preparations for the next general elections which are scheduled for 13th August 2021. There are two main objections that have been raised by our fellow opposition leaders, being the online voter pre-registration process and the plans by ECZ to establish a new voters roll as opposed to updating the 2010 voters roll. We have also closely monitored the explanations that have been put forward by the Electoral Commission of Zambia with regard to these two contentious issues.
2. On the issue of the online voter pre-registration, the Electoral Commission of Zambia has indicated that this is merely a preliminary stage which is meant to capture details of potential voters in advance so that when potential voters go to physically register, the time taken to register each one of them can be reduced because most of the details would have already been captured during the online voter pre-registration process. The Commission has continuously and consistently emphasized that the online voter pre-registration process is not final and that it is optional. Those who do not do online voter pre-registration will still be able to register as voters when the physical registration process commences, except that they will take slightly more time to do so compared to their colleagues who would have undertaken online voter pre-registration and most of whose details would have already been captured and would only require verification.
3. On the issue of plans to establish a new voters roll as opposed to merely updating the 2010 voters roll, the Commission explained that a new voters roll is likely to be more accurate than merely updating the 2010 voters roll.
4. As Patriots for Economic Progress, our view is that the explanations that have been given by the Electoral Commission of Zambia on both the issue of online voter pre-registration as well as on the issue of a new voters roll, are sound and valid to any reasonable person. Given the fact that the online voter pre-registration process is not final and it is also optional, the arguments that have been advanced by some of the opposition leaders that citizens in rural areas will be disenfranchised because they do not have smartphones nor internet, do not carry any water. That is because even if a citizen does not do the online voter pre-registration, they will still be able to register as a voter without any qualms.
4. On the issue of developing a new voters roll as opposed to updating the 2010 voters roll, we share the views of the Electoral Commission of Zambia that a fresh voters roll that is done from scratch is likely to be more accurate than updating the existing voters roll. That is because the existing voters roll is approximately 10 years old now and a significant number of the voters that were registered in 2010 might have died while others have since moved to other parts of the country. Therefore, updating the 2010 voters roll will present two fundamental problems; firstly we will have a significant number of dead people on the voters roll, especially given the fact that we have a manual and predominantly inaccurate records system for the deceased in Zambia, and secondly we are likely to have several duplicates for people that would have registered in 2010 but have relocated to other parts of the country and decide to register afresh even though they are already on the voters roll. This means that it will be a cumbersome and expensive process to clean up and validate the updated voters roll. These problems will not arise if we do a totally fresh voters roll.
5. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we have further noted with regret that some opposition leaders including UPND’s Hakainde Hichilema, NDC’s Chishimba Kambwili and MMD’s Nevers Mumba, have been conducting themselves in an unreasonable manner by seeking to create a narrative that everything about ECZ is wrong. These leaders have been condemning all the Commissioners at ECZ, they have been condemning the Chief Electoral Officer, they have been condemning each and every activity undertaken by the Commission. To them, nothing and no one is good at ECZ. Everything is bad. These leaders have issued various statements to the effect that the electoral process is rigged and that the outcome of next year’s elections should not be relied upon.
6. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we are cognizant of the fact that the Electoral Commission of Zambia must be held accountable in the manner that they undertake the electoral process. As political parties, it is our duty to hold ECZ accountable. However, even as we hold ECZ accountable, we ought to be wary of two things. Firstly, we must always endeavor to be reasonable in our criticism of the Commission. For example there is nothing worth criticizing the Commission about with regard to either the online voter pre-registration process or the plan for a new voters roll, because the explanations that have been consistently and continuously put forward by the Commission are perfectly reasonable. Secondly, even as we criticize the Electoral Commission of Zambia, we need to resist the temptation to usurp the powers of the Commission. The Constitution of Zambia only gives one body the power to organize and manage elections in Zambia. And that body is not UPND, nor NDC nor MMD. Indeed, the only body entrusted with managing elections in this country is the Electoral Commission of Zambia. That is the system that we have created for ourselves as the Zambian people, and we must not allow a few embattled politicians, whose shelf life has long expired, to usurp this system. Of course, as political parties, we are stakeholders to the electoral process. But every stakeholder must know their boundaries. Being a stakeholder does not mean that you are the owner of the process. You are merely a concerned party whose opinions must be heard and considered. Favorably or otherwise.
7. As Patriots for Economic Progress, it is our considered view that some of these opposition political party leaders including UPND’s Hakainde Hichilema, NDC’s Chishimba Kambwili and MMD’s Nevers Mumba, are hellbent on causing confusion and anarchy ahead of next years general elections, so that they can create advance excuses to give to their supporters for their likely poor performance in next years elections. However, labeling the electoral process as rigged without any evidence or fact is dangerous to the peace and security of this country, as some less probing citizens will take the words of their leaders as gospel truth and proceed to cause anarchy. Therefore, our view is that any opposition leader who labels the electoral process as rigged must be put to strict proof, and failure to which they must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for alarming the nation.
8. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we wish to remind the Zambian people that the political process in this country has been ongoing since the 1950s. Some political leaders made it and became Republican Presidents while others did not and went down in history as such. However, the Republic of Zambia has always been there and should always be there regardless of the happenings in the political process of this country. Therefore, any individual politician, regardless of how popular they feel they are should conduct their politics within the parameters of preserving the continuity of this Republic. The conduct of individuals such as UPND’s Hakainde Hichilema, NDC’s Chishimba Kambwili and MMD’s Nevers Mumba of late has the potential to bring out anarchy and jeopardize the continuity of this Republic. It is therefore our appeal to these gentleman that they stop practicing a scorched earth policy in their politics. Failure to which they need to be able to bear the consequences of their actions.
Thank You and May God Bless the Good Citizens of the Republic of Zambia and Our Ailing Nation.
Issued By:
Sean Enock Tembo (SET)
Party President
Patriots For Economic Progress (PeP)