OPPOSITION UPND members of parliament have demanded for an extension of the voter registration exercise.
The exercise, which began on November 9, is expected to close tomorrow.
Lader of the opposition in Parliament and Monze Central member of parliament Jack Mwiimbu spoke on behalf of other lawmakers.
They also said they have evidence that the mobile issuance of national registration cards (NRCs) in Luapula, Northern, Muchinga, Eastern and the northern parts of Central Provinces has been ongoing, side by side with the registration of voters.
The members of parliament complained that: “we have evidence to show that in areas like Western Province, NRC officials did not touch more than 50 per cent of the areas that were required to be covered by the mobile teams.”
“In Southern, Central and Lusaka, they covered not more than 60 per cent [of the areas]. And we brought out this particular issue to the attention of the authorities – the Minister of Home Affairs,” Mwiimbu said at a media briefing on the electoral process in Lusaka.
Almost all UPND members of parliament attended the event.
Mwiimbu said the low numbers of people who were given NRCs in Lusaka, Central, Southern, Western provinces was a deliberate ploy by the PF.
He added that an election is not an event but a process.
“For you to register as a voter, you need to be 18 years of age and you need to have an NRC. [But] as a result of non-issuance of NRCs in the areas in the indicated areas, we have thousands of people who were not able to register as voters,” he said.
“It therefore follows that they have been disenfranchised by the government. An NRC is not just for the purpose of elections…. In other areas, we have evidence that mobile issuance of NRCs is taking place in Luapula, Northern, Muchinga, Eastern and the northern parts of Central Province.”
He asked: “why is the PF government being discriminatory?”
“What they have done [is that] the issuance of national registration cards is being done side by side with the voters’ cards. NRC officials have gone to voting centres – you get your NRC and then you are registered [and issued] with a voter’s card,” he noted.
“Any genuine Christian is not supposed to be discriminatory. But discrimination is taking place. We would like the Minister of Home Affairs to be responsible and investigate what we are getting – that kids who are not eligible are getting NRCs and voters’ cards.”
Mwiimbu then made a demand.
“Our demand is that because the whole [electoral] process is marred by problems, we call upon the electoral commission to extend the voter registration,” noted Mwiimbu.
“We are demanding, as the representatives of the people, that they must extend the period [of registration].”
Meanwhile, UPND parliamentary whip and Liuwa member of parliament Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane said there must be an audit into the NRC issuance, province by province.
He added that the second phase of national registration cards issuance did not capture as many people as the first phase.