The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) has commended the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for giving candidates in the fourth coming Kasama parliamentary elections an equal access to the media.
FODEP President Stanly Mhango said the introduction of radio programmes is a big boost to democracy as it will give the electorate in Kasama a chance to know what the different candidates are offering them.
Mr. Mhango said in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today that the introduction of these radio programmes will also help to increase the voter turn out in Kasama central constituency during the by-elections next week.
He said the programmes will allow the electorate in Kasama to vote from an informed point of view adding that this will also allow parties and candidates with little resources to sell themselves to their electorate.
He said the radio programmes are in line with the ECZ electoral code of conduct to give equal media coverage to all political parties and candidates during elections.
He has however appealed to ECZ to extend radio programmes to ZNBC radio so that even other people can monitor the campaigns.
And the Anti-Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) Information Officer, Richwell Mulwani says the radio programmes will provides candidates a level playing field ahead of the elections.
Mr. Mulwani said this will also increase the competition by candidates which he said is good for the country’s democracy.
ZANIS
Well hopefully you shall sing the same song when we win this seat. The opposition are known for their Conspiracy and VJ rigging theories when they loose elections. I hope when they lose next week , they can just accept a better organized party beat them and when we lose we shall concede as we have done before and move on to Solwezi for another marathon campaign
so you know very well that your VJ has been doing it. Not in Kasama with or without VJ’S theories MMD will tumble.
MMD Chief Bootlicker litako sana!
VJ has never rigged an election or any election for that matter. If he was a rigger and a damn good rigger for that matter, MMD would have 100% seats in parliament. Election rigging in Zambia is just an URBAN LEGEND Just something the opposition have latched onto as a excuse to feed their supporters. More like the religion , opium style, they feed to their followers when they lose an election so they continue believing in them. Elections rigging is just abused by the opposition to cover their incompetence. For Example MMD would love to have Lusaka and VJ lives in Lusaka, why couldn’t he rig if indeed he was a master rigger as people claim. Also we would love to have rural South Province and VJ comes from there and yet we have consistently lost those areas. Opposition be honest