The Electoral Commission of Zambia has said that the published nomination fees for candidates who wish to participate in the General Elections are just a proposal and have been not been adopted, and are still a matter under discussion with stakeholders.
In a statement released to the media last evening and signed by the Commission’s Public relations Manager, Ms Margaret Chimanse, the commission expressed concern at the misinformation regarding its proposal to revise all nomination fees, adding that rejecting the proposed nomination fees for candidates at this stage while there is room for dialogue with concerned stakeholders and political parties is premature.
Below is the full statement
PROPOSED NOMINATION FEES STILL UNDER DISCUSSION
The Commission has noted with concern the misinformation regarding its proposal to revise all nomination fees for the 2021 General Elections.
The Commission, therefore, wishes to clarify to stakeholders and the general public that the proposed nomination fees for candidates who wish to participate in the General Elections have not been adopted, and are still a matter under discussion with stakeholders.
During the meeting with political parties at Mulungushi International Conference Centre on Tuesday,16 th June, 2020 it was “Agreed that the nomination fees be left to the political parties to suggest fees that they deem appropriate with the baseline being the current fees. It was agreed further that the proposed fees would be submitted to the Commission within one week.”
Thus, rejecting the proposed nomination fees for candidates at this stage while there is room for dialogue with concerned stakeholders and political parties is premature.
The Commission wishes to assure stakeholders and the electorate that it remains resolute in delivering its mandate to manage elections that are inclusive in order to meet the aspirations of the Zambian people.
Issued by
Margaret Chimanse
Public Relations Manager
For/The Commission
A proposal that stakeholders have rejected, and you call their rejection as misinformation, if they don’t reject that proposal it will become reality, the same ECZ will come back and say no one came forward to object to the proposal.
What were you thinking when you made those proposals? You’re supposed to defend your proposal, aren’t you? May be the ECZ has also tasted Chinese money because those that do stop thinking properly. PF is a failed project, the Boat sunk with Sata
These bloody idiots are taking people for fools.
So is it misinformation when people comment contents of a proposal? What’s the purpose of a proposal then? Surely, Maggie as a media person ought to respond better than this.
This is another hopeless organisation that allowed Chavula to enter an IT protected zone for reasons best known to themselves .Why has Chavula not been taken to court upto now ?
Is not wise to say “we are sorry”?
ELECTIONS ARE A DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND THE REASON WE HOLD ELECTIONS IN DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES IS TO ALLOW INDIVIDUALS EXERCISE THEIR DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THEMSELVES FOR ELECTIONS ON THE ONE HAND AND TO ALLOW PEOPLE CHOOSE THEIR PREFERRED CANDIDATES FREELY, WHEN THE SITUATION AT HAND OF THOSE PROPOSITIONS IS LOOKED AT, ONE WOULD ASK THIS QUESTION, WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF SUCH AN INCREASE?, DOES IT NOT GO DIRECTLY AGAINST THE ACTUAL OBJECTIVE OF HAVING ELECTIONS? OR ARE WE JUST A COUNTRY ON PLANET MARS WITH ITS OWN WAY OF LOOKING AT HOW THE WORLD OPERATES. I APPOLOGIZE.
Why publish proposals in the manner they were? It’s like the template for Bill 10 is being applied everywhere. What is really going on in Zed kanshi? Whoever is caught pants down starts blaming the belt buckle.
Zambians are losing confidence in ECZ a statutory institution that is meant to serve Zambians fairly with information. To suggest that those upped nomination fees were merely proposals is a lie. ECZ has not offered any justification to those numbers. This reminds Zambians too concerning the printing of ballot papers. ECZ claimed was in discussion with stakeholders. Next, Dubai printing company was picked without stakeholder approval to print ballot papers. Next was all stakeholders will witness the printing of ballot papers and denied all stakeholders to witness as promised.
To day we are told elections can not be postponed because its constitutional. Really, a dictator has just dies in Burundi due to holding elections in the midst of covid-19. The man heading ECZ is highly a…
questionable character, Justice Essau Chulu can not be trusted. Zambians have not forgotten how he instigated at falsifying elections results in Lundazi in 2016. ECZ should and can do better than being constantly questioned by Zambians which may confirm our apprehensions of impartiality of ECZ.
PF PF PF PF PF PF PF PF PF….What have you done to this once peaceful country….? Your days of reckoning will soon come, you kill each other while we watch…you are a curse
Please just increase them. I personally see no issue with this. It will eliminate the chancers and time wasters who only appear during election year.
Disband ECZ, you can form another team with 30 days.
Margaret Chimanse, please know that u work for an organisation where a high a degree of trust is a must. There are countries that hv descended into chaos and violence because of perceived electoral partiality. And whn the violence came, even former election officials had to look for somewhere safe to run to as individuals not as families. That’s hw bad it can get. Your own chairman Jdg Esau Chulu doesn’t seem to realize this. If any rumour of doubt emerges, as an organisation the ECZ is supposed to clear it in presence of all stakeholders. Zambia is a post-colonial state and all state organs are supposed to know the importance of diversity in the staff establishment. It’s not for nothing that social science scholars hv seen it fit to establish a whole academic journal THE JOURNAL OF…
It’s called THE JOURNAL OF POST-COLONIAL STUDIES. It doesn’t take any prisoners in its analysis.
What is Kz talking about, we already have a time waster …
If a person proposes to sell a house at k 350,000, then automatically even the bidding will fall within that range. I don’t envision ECZ cutting the proposed nomination fees by half.
Difficult to understand politicians.
They would spend billions to buy a vote in campaign, but question a nomination fee of a couple of thousands
In Zambia words like proposal, maybe, perhaps, suggestion etc have lost meaning.
You can cheat one time but cant take people for a ride and think they dont reason well like Lusambo who has put Lungu as if he is his god father.
Let us look at it on a positive side.
We dont want to have a lot of candidates like it was last time.
Every one knows the battle is for upnd and pf. we need accountability for every vote no split of votes not this time.
Nonsense, proposal in Public? You have also Joined PF with your disorganizations. Just because Mwila is rejecting it, you call this a proposal. This Same ECZ cannot control PF. It is a shame to have important Institutions run by incompetent people.
PF IS A CURSE THAT IS WHY EVERYTHING IN THE NAME OF JESUS THINKS JESUS CHRIST WOULD CONDON WHAT THEY DO.
JESUS CHRIST WAS TOO SMART AND WAS THE MOUTH PIECE For the voiceless nor wonder he called King Herold Mumbwe. Fox world dog and
Who do these news reporters think they are, none of them is running their respective departments efficiently. Dora and now Margaret?How do u propose for a 150% increase of nomination fees? Something which is someone’s birth right, is this what she was taught when she was studying News Reading. Next they ll propose a 200% increase on Reg cards , followed by Voters cards.
Its probably ECZ Limited which has increased its fees and not ECZ.
O,r maybe the ECZ for exams?
It was clear it was a proposal, but our reactivate opposition always have to be negative and misconstrue facts.
How can a rejection of a proposal be classified as “fake news”. No brains in evidence there at all !
That’s a reasonable increase!!! We don’t want broke leaders who go in government for fortunes!!!
Oh how I loved this girl until she joined the ECZ! That stench at the ECZ will be very hard to shake off sweetheart!