For Immediate Release
Lusaka 22nd September 2020
STOP THE ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION- KAMBWILI WARNS ECZ
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) party President, Dr. Chishimba Kambwili, has cautioned the Electoral Commission of Zambia to immediately abandon the online voter registration exercise, which he calls a scam by the PF using the ECZ.
Speaking at his woodlands residence this morning, when he addressed journalists, the NDC leader said, ECZ was formed by an Act of Parliament and reminded the ECZ that it was formed to conduct the elections for and on behalf of the people of Zambia and, therefore, before any decision is made, the ECZ has a duty to consult the people.
‘But regrettably, the ECZ does not consult the stakeholders, which is a sad situation,’ Dr. Kambwili said.
The NDC strongman has since appealed to the ECZ not to plunge the country into trouble, which has been peaceful this far.
Dr Kambwili wondered why the Commission wanted to bring confusion where there was none. He particularly expressed disappointment at Commissioners like Mrs. Emily Sikazwe, who was outspoken when she was in civil society but had now changed and was not representing the common good of the people.
Dr. Kambwili also addressed Justice Esau Chuulu who he urged to act for the people. Dr. Kambwili wondered why the ECZ, through Mr Chuulu, announced that only people who will do online pre-registration would be the only ones that will be considered during the mobile registration.
The NDC leader further wondered how the people in rural areas, who have no access to internet and have no smart phones, would manage to take part in the registration exercise.
Dr. Kambwili further mentioned that the government had not taken ICT in rural areas because there was no interest. ‘This online registration is new to the people of Zambia and the country has no facility to under take the exercise,’ the NDC president said.
Dr. Kambwili warned the Chief Election Officer Mr. Patrick Nshindano to be wary about his lack of professionalism and diplomacy when dealing with election issues, stating that when the country was to be set on fire as a result of his careless talk, even himself would be affected. He complained that the people had no where to go but Zambia and hence the need to safeguard the peace that the country had enjoyed from independence.
The NDC leader wondered why the PF regime, through the ECZ, wanted people who were already registered voters to register again.
Dr. Kambwili said the Constitution of Zambia provided for the continuous registration of voters. He asserted that only those who were supposed to register and be entered in the register were those who were registering for the first time.
Dr. Kambwili wondered how the Commission could capture 9 million people in 30 days. ‘This is impossible because there are many issues that need to be considered,’ said the NDC leader.
Dr. Kambwili wondered why the government had to wait to begin the exercise at the last minute.
The government, during the phase one of the NRC registration, had issued the NRCs in the PF strongholds and before the other regions for the opposition could get NRCs, the Commission has begun the online voter registration. The NDC president felt that it was a ploy for rigging and should be stopped immediately.
Dr. Kambwili also wondered why the Commission had gone ahead with the high Presidential nomination fees. ‘This is an act to stop the people from taking part in an election. The high nomination fees will only disfranchise and prevent former civil servants from taking part in their civic duties of seeking position in an election,’ he said.
Dr. Kambwili has since advised the ECZ to revert to the physical registration and to give the exercise 60 days. He mentioned that only those who were registered but lost their cards should be the ones to reregister.
The NDC leader further asked the ECZ to consider removing people from the register that had died, using local authorities, as they were in charge of issuing burial permits, which they kept stock of all the deceased people. Hence the need to work hand in hand with the local authorities and traditional leaders in rural areas to clean up the register.
Additionally, Dr. Kambwili said that the way the Commission was doing things depicted the people seeking violence. ‘They are the enemy of the people. They will be the ones to blame should the violence break out in the country. These people don’t want to listen and only want to do things the way they want them done,’ he said.
The NDC leader has since advised the Commission to leave the old register alone and only add new voters in the old register.
‘The just ended phase one of mobile NRC registration exercise, the statics show that the period was not enough and 9 million people can’t be captured under a month,’ he stated.
The NDC leader has since advised President Edgar Lungu to take control since he had also admitted that things were bad in the country and had promised to take control.
The NDC leader also cautioned that certain things done by the authorities turned to work against them in future. Dr Kambwili gave an example of the Movement for Multity Party Democracy (MMD) which brought corruption during elections and were now crying foul of the same corruption it introduced.
‘It is not too late yet for the government to change and do the right thing. These guys are making a serious mistake. There is no way the Commission can exclusively deal with those that will register via online. What will happen to those who have no internet and are the majority. They are far beyond the population of voters,’ Dr. Kambwili stated.
The NDC leader warned that if things went wrong, the people behind the wrong would be the first ones to be beaten by the people.
Issued by: Emmanuel Malite NDC Media Director esq.