The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has announced that Lusaka Province recorded 9,248 new or first time voters in the on-going registration of voters exercise.
ECZ Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Brown Kasaro says the figure was captured in the first phase of the voter registration exercise which he said was being done in phases.
The media reports that Mr Kasaro made the announcement during a press briefing held in Lusaka today when he updated the nation on the progress of the voter registration exercise following public concerns.
He stated that the 9,248 registered voters were recorded between October 13th and October 16th, marking a significant initial turnout in the province.
He however, could not reveal the exact provisional statistics from three other districts that form the Province.
Mr Kasaro assured the public that the Commission is proactively addressing coverage, adding that it has devised a deployment plan in order to reach out to a larger population not only in the capital city but the country as a whole.
The CEO also announced a vigorous publicity campaign that ECZ is provided through its websites and other available media platforms to ensure citizens are fully aware of the ongoing exercise.
And Shadrick Chimsofuya, a resident of Lusaka’s Kalundu area expressed concern about the limited availability of registration points.
He appealed to the government to consider increasing the number of registration centers in the district.
“I have not seen or found any other voter registration center here in Kalundu area,” he stated.
Meanwhile, a resident of Kalingalinga Township, Kenneth Mukanga urged the government to recruit more officers to enable a smooth and quick registration process which he said was allegedly slow.
“The process is rather slow as you can see. My plea to the Commission is to add more man-power to fasten the exercise,” Mr Mukanga said.
