Government to ensure peaceful polls – Mpande

Government says it will ensure that this year’s tripartite elections are held in a peaceful atmosphere.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kabinga Mpande also indicated that election observer missions help government to make up for shortcomings observed from past elections and help add credence to the country’s electoral process.

In a statement made available to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday, Mr. Mpande stated that government has, in its effort to ensure peaceful polls, also sent invitations to all interested parties in observing the forth coming general and parliamentary elections.

“Zambia has enjoyed peace and wants to maintain the same. There is need for elections to be transparent and to be held in a peaceful atmosphere,” he emphasized.

Mr. Mpande was speaking yesterday when a visiting seven-man delegation from the European Union Elections Observer Team, which is in Zambia at President Banda’s invitation, paid a courtesy call on him.

Mr. Mpande thanked the delegation for responding to President Banda’s request to have an observer mission from the European Union.

“Zambia has enjoyed peace and wants to maintain the same. There is need for elections to be transparent and to be held in a peaceful atmosphere,” he emphasized.

And Delegation Leader Mark Gallagher said his team received the request from President Banda to come and monitor the forth coming elections.

Mr. Gallagher noted that the European Union sends observer missions to concerned countries before the elections to make sure that the missions are welcome and that they are deployed on time.

He said the missions are deployed two months before the election date once it is determined that the reception is positive.

Mr. Gallagher stated that the observer mission would have to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Zambian government which would be done by mid July this year before observers are deployed.

ZANIS