The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has refuted a story published by an online publication, the Zambian Watchdog, suggesting that the ongoing continuous voter registration exercise was aimed at rigging elections in favour of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF).
ECZ Public Relation Manager Crispin Akufuna said electoral regulations of 2010 section 10 (1) on the registration of voters’ state that, a person who has attained the age of 18 years may apply to be registered as a voter to the registration officer for the polling district in which the applicant ordinarily resides.
“This therefore means that one can only register where he is resident and registration officers are duty bound to ensure that the law is followed as stated,” he explained.
He said this in a statement released to ZANIS in Lusaka yesterday.
He noted that it was misleading for the Zambian Watchdog to suggest that a political party, ruling or the opposition, can shift their members to register in areas where there are by-election at anytime and anyplace.
Mr. Akufuna said the suggestion that this formula was widely used during the Mufumbwe by-elections and various wards across the country is farfetched as can be attested by voter registration records available at the commission.
He added that according to the records, the commission did not receive any new application to register, amend particulars or even transfer in the last by election in Mufumbwe and local Government by elections.
He said as for the fourth coming by elections, only Muchinga ward in Matero constituency registered two new voters and five updates.
Mr. Akufuna further said in Livingstone in Southern Province, there was only one new registration adding that there are no changes to the register of voters in Mpongwe constituency in the Copperbelt province and other wards where by-election will be held.
He advised the public that the suspension of the voter registration whenever there are by-elections was in accordance with the law and not a response to any perceived scheme.
Mr. Akufuna said the commission will also ensure that the register which was used in 2011 is used in the forthcoming elections.
ZANIS
The watchdog must be influential, they just had to respond
My question to Akufuna is why do you have only one so called continuous voters registration centre in Lusaka and at show grounds? how do you expect pipo to come all the way from SHANGOMBO to come and register here in Lusaka? surely this arrangement raises lot of suspicion it does not make any sense at all, that is the reason why pipo are saying using it to rig elections for PF. In Mufumbwe there was an accusation of under age voting and up to now ECZ u have not refuted that allegation. During MMD by-election ECZ where sending political parties to monitor priting of ballot papers in South Africa but under PF dictatorship u are not sending them, so who is representing opposition parties bcoz ECZ u are all PF cadres? even voter registers in Mufumbwe agents where not given during voting
#1 they should just have ignored it. The watchdog is crazy-just like The Post
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