Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Commissioner Fredrick Ngandu says his commission will reduce distances for voters’ registration and elections to five kilometers before 2016 tripartite elections.
Commissioner Ngandu says this is in order for the electorates to easily access the polling stations.
He said that the ECZ has embarked on a countrywide delimitation exercise in order to create new wards, polling districts and stations where necessary.
He said the exercise was being necessitated by an increase in population and that some polling stations were located in areas not suitable for conducting elections such as markets.
ZANIS reports that the ECZ Commissioner said this during the official opening of the delimitation exercise in Chisamba district, today.
He however said the current delimitation would not include the creation of constituencies because the current constitution only provides for 150 constituencies.
He said following census of 2010, a delimitation Commission was constituted to review constituency boundaries .
Mr Ngandu said arising from the submissions received from the delimitation, the commission recommended that the number of constituencies be increased from 150 to 235.
He said the creation of new districts across the country has resulted in the revision of some district electoral boundaries to pave way for the new districts.
He said some constituency boundaries have also being affected by the revised district boundaries and that the commission had to adjust some constituency ,ward and polling district boundaries to avoid a situation where a constituency falls within two or more districts.
Meanwhile, four wards, nine polling stations and nine polling districts will be created in Chisamba district following the delimitation exercise by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
The Councilors in the district have proposed that Chikonkomene ward splits to create Mwantaya and Mwapula wards while Chamuka should be split to create Miswa and Mutenge wards in addition to the already existing six.
The councilors have also proposed to the commission that the number of polling districts increases from 44 to53.
And Bruneli, Chikuse, Kaminembe, Chipandaike, Kalimina, Kamulobwe, Mwantaya, Kasamba and Mafunda be turned into polling districts.
The Councilors also submitted that that the polling stations be Bruneli , Chikuse, Kaminembe, Kalimina, Kamulobwe, Mwantaya, Mafunda, Kasamba primary schools and Chipandaike community school.
This may not be big news but for administrative purposes and also delivering services to the grassroots, this is welcome news and bravo to the ECZ. My hope is that these suggestions do not end up the way the draft constitution has ended up, being shelved. I have had an opportunity to look at the proposed maps from ECZ’s GIS unit. Good work. Kindly add some more infrastructural information like schools and health centres. Well done.
Long overdue. The candidate with transport for his would be voters won. Another way Zambia is broadening democracy. If you have never lived in a rural area, you would think this is nothing. Many people have been defranchised because of the distance to either the polling station or the gist ration centres. Well done ECZ.