A consortium of Civil Society Organizations has written to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to seek clarification on whether there is any policy change with regards to the continuous voter registration.
Speaking on behalf of other civil society organizations, Chapter One Foundation Executive Director Linda Kasonde says the CSOs await a response from ECZ, saying they believe continuous voter registration entails that any potential voter should have the right to register to vote at any time, as opposed to there being a restricted period for voter registration.
Ms. Kasonde says the CSOs’ position is that ECZ should only retain the power to set the cut-off point for creating the voters’ roll in an election, as restricting the period in which voters can register to vote could potentially disenfranchise eligible voters and therefore restrict their constitutional right to vote.
She says the constitution sets a constitutional standard in which a citizen shall not be deprived of the right to universal adult suffrage and the electoral commission must abide by the standards provided in the constitution.
In a statement, Ms. Kasonde adds that these rights are not subject to statutory prescription as was the case before the 2016 amendments to the constitution; hence the CSOs contend that any attempt to restrict these rights and duties is unconstitutional.
The development follows a pronouncement by Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano, who prior to the 2021 elections stated that it is the function of the commission to conduct the voters’ registration process and also disclosed that voter registration had been restricted to 30 days.
It’s important for all stakeholders to make contributions or demands that are tenable. A larger % of the ECZ budget is funded by the EU and that’s the reason they have more say on our electoral process and reforms. A continuous voter registration isn’t tenable at the moment nor the near future. It’s likely to even be a source of electoral conflict. Elections are a one off event. Can you imagine what could have happened had there been new voters in Kabwata on between the two electrons? It’s likely that there might be an influx of eligible voters wherever there’s a by-election