IMPROVE YOUR EFFICIENCY OR LEAVE THE OLD VOTERS ROLL ALONE MUSOKOTWANE URGES THE ELECTIONS BODY.
By UPND reporter
UPND parliamentary whip Situmbeko Musokotwane has demanded for the immediate increase in the number competent Electoral Commission of Zambia officials handling the voter registration exercise to avoid disfranchising eligible citizens in the forthcoming national general elections slated for 2021.
Dr Situmbeko says the lack of adequate manpower and equipment at polling stations especially in rural areas were disappointing and called on the elections body to consider maintaining the current voters roll which has more than 6 million registered voters and concentrate on new voters if it is to meet its 9 million target.
He said reports reaching his office from UPND Members of Parliament across the country provide a gloomy picture of the exercise hence the need for the commission to put its act in order and serve the nation in accordance with its mandate and not disfranchise eligible voters of their democratic right.
Dr Musokotwane who is also Liuwa UPND lawmaker said reports reaching him from the constituency indicate faulty machines such as dry ink and faulty generators resulting into only 13 people obtaining the cards at one polling station at the opening of the exercise.
“The exercise is very slow as ECZ has only dispatched one poll officer to each polling station who is doing all the activities such as taking down details,biometrics and laminating which is quiet too much for an individual.We demand as Members of Parliament of the UPND that the ECZ immediately dispatches more manpower to the stations to make the process more effective.You cant have a single officer and expect to achieve maximum results.This is a lie.We only have 30 days and the rate at which the exercise is being handled is scarely,he said.
He further added that the failure by the government to conduct the nationwide census exercise due to lack of funds has not helped matters as the country was operating on guess work in as far as the number of eligible voters is concerned,saying the lack of funds has had an adverse effect on social programs such as the registration of voters.
“When we advised the Patriotic Front that the number of induced by-elections was not helping the nation as too much resources were being allocated towards such exercises,they thought we were joking and called us all sorts of names.Now look what is happening,ECZ is broke because all funds went towards by-elections.We are now where we are due to lack of prudent management of resources”.
Dr Musokotwane was speaking when he addressed the media this morning at the UPND secretariat.