CIC PRESS Team
7h ·
Banda Sakanya
Copperbelt ~ Kalulushi
WHOSE INTEREST IS ECZ SERVING?
In as much as it is understood that ECZ is an autonomous entity established under article 229(1) of the constitution and electoral commission of Zambia act, there is need for the electoral commission to equally respect the concerns of stake holders who in this instance are the political parties.
Areas of concern that stake holders raised were;
~to keep the old register,
~ The registration period
~ prisoners not to vote.
The aforementioned areas of concern can not be regarded as interference in the operations of ECZ.
The first phase has lucidly given ECZ a clear picture that it’s arrogance not to heed to stake holders’ 3 months duration of registration was a deliberate oversight.
The decision taken by ECZ to run registration centres 24hrs like fuel stations without engaging stake holders, is a slap in the face of stake holders and raise eyebrows to who is ECZ serving.
It does not make any sense to run centres 24hrs service because no one would brave the cold and risk his/her to just go and register around 01AM.
ECZ should have deployed day light manpower and increase equipment as per it’s promise so that the long ques and daily flocking to centres are curtailed.
But the move ECZ has taken of night operational is an exercise in futility.
The process is slow and in most cases machines are breaking down for some days and one wonders on how those days would be compensated.
The 9 million projected number will be far fetched at the end of the whole registration process of one month, and most likely the predictable number of registered by then would be less 4 million people not even half of the projected number of 9 million.
PRISONERS VOTING.
There was a meeting at Mulungushi conference centre on 7th October 2020, with all stake holders and it was resolved that prisoners would not be allowed to register to vote in the forth coming general elections because of concerns with regards to campaigning in prison that one overzealous commissioner of prisons careless stated that he shall not allow opposition political parties to campaign in prisons, the modality of issuance of NRCs and which category of prisoners would vote.
Surprisingly ECZ has gone against the resolved resolution with stake holders and has gone ahead to register prisoners.
The question now remain unanswered to who is Esau Chulu and Nshindano are both serving?
It is not interfering in the operations of ECZ, but it is a question that deserves an honest answer from ECZ because the commission has gone