The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has explained the delay in announcing election results from the rest of the country to the public through the official election results centre that has been set up at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka.

ECZ Public Relations Manager, Cris Akufuna explained this morning that the Commission has not yet received consolidated results from any of the 150 constituencies in Zambia.

ZANIS reports that Mr. Akufuna said the ECZ has however received results from some totalling centres from around the country but not the general total results from constituencies.

He said results are announced only when total results from a particular constituency have been received and added.

The ECZ Official also explained the delay to local election monitors, international election observers, civil society organisations, church representatives, political parties and the local and foreign media that have been eagerly waiting for results at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre since yesterday.

However, Mr. Akufuna assured the country that elections results will be announced as soon as totals from constituencies have been received by the centre.

He hoped that by 09:00 hours this morning, the Commission will have received some full results from some constituencies.

Meanwhile, Mr. Akufuna has disclosed that the electorate at Nakatindi polling station in Kanyama constituency in Lusaka will not be given another chance to vote following their decision to burn ballot papers yesterday.

He said the only voters that will be allowed to vote later are those in polling stations that did not receive their ballot papers by yesterday.

Three polling stations were affected in Lukulu west in Western Province after the vehicle that was delivering ballot papers was involved in an accident.

Mr. Akufuna said ECZ will this morning use Zambia Air Force (ZAF) helicopters to deliver election materials to the affected areas, adding that voting will be conducted immediately.

ZANIS

National Movement for party (NMP) Ngandu Magande has said the voting process so far is overwhelming.

Mr. Magande said there is no need to fight over simple mistakes that have so far occurred in Kanyama and Vera Chiluba polling stations.

ZANIS reports that he said voters do not need to fight over such irregularities but to dialogue.

And Mr. Magande has noted that the presence of election monitors in the country is a clear indication that the world is a global village.

He commended the foreign election observers for their contribution on how to handle conflict management.

Mr. Magande advised that possible conflict post election should not be resolved with violence but dialogue and partnership.

He said this when he addressed journalists this afternoon at Vera Chiluba polling station in Mtendere where he accompanied his party’s Munali aspiring candidate Andrew Masiye to cast his vote.

And Mr. Masiye urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to immediately act on all irregularities that have occurred so far during the electoral process saying by so doing it would enable voters to have confidence in the election results.

[pullquote]Mr. Magande said there is no need to fight over simple mistakes that have so far occurred in Kanyama and Vera Chiluba polling stations.[/pullquote]

He said he was optimistic that the elections would be free and fair.

Voting is currently taking place in the country with the electorate voting for their preferred presidential, parliamentary and local government candidates. The country recorded a total of 5,167,154 registered voters. Voting is expected to end at 18 hours (6 pm) but polling stations that delayed to open will have an extension.

ZANIS

Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata has called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to extend voting hours at centre’s that opened late for voting.

Mr Sata said it is imperative that all the registered voters are accorded an opportunity to be part of the country’s democratic process.

ZANIS reports that he said all registered voters in the country should be allowed to exercise their right to vote for their preferred candidates in today’s tripartite elections and therefore ECZ should ensure that no one is disfranchised.

Mr Sata was speaking to journalists shortly after touring Vere Chiluba polling centre in Lusaka’s Munali Constituency.

Late opening of voting characterised many polling centres in Lusaka.

At Vera Chiluba Basic School, which has over five thousand registered voters, voting was opened after 08:00 hours because the centre did not have voting booths.

The situation agitated many voters who had queued up to vote from as early as 04:00 hours.

However, after the opening of voting, the situation was calmed and people have been voting peacefully since that time. The voter turnout has been described by many as satisfactory.

And Mr Sata said it is his constitutional right to tour polling centres as an aspiring presidential candidate.

Asked if his tour of polling centres could influence the outcome of the elections, Mr Sata said he was not the one who made the law.

On the late opening of most polling stations in Lusaka, the opposition leader took a swipe at the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) saying they were trying to confuse the whole electoral process.

The PF leader earlier in the morning cast his vote at Jacaranda Basic School in Kabwata Constituency.

However, Presiding Officer Jonathan Masebo dispelled assertions that some people were trying to rig the elections.

Mr Masebo could not give a comprehensive explanation as to why the ballot booths were not delivered on time.

A check by ZANIS at Mtendere Basic School and Mtendere Pre School found voting progressing smoothly, with voting been conducted in a peaceful manner.

The residents who had turned up to vote from as early as 04:00 hours said they did not want to be left out in the country’s democratic dispensation.

Meanwhile, earlier during the day, ECZ Public Relations Manager Chris Akufuna said the electoral body would compensate for the late opening of some polling stations in the country and expressed disappointment that the electoral materials were delayed.

Mr Akufuna told a press briefing in Lusaka today that the electoral officers were advised to deliver the materials a day before voting took place.

He also said that the extension of voting hours would depend on the number of hours respective polling stations delayed to open.

ZANIS

Quick action by a combined team of Zambia Police Service and the Electoral Commission (ECZ ) officers averted a near stampede at Lusaka city library polling station in Lusaka Central Constituency after a slow pace of the voting process.

ZANIS reports from the polling station , that after voting process begun slightly after 06: 00 hours this morning, the irate voters became impatient and hence tried to force their way into the polling station.

But alert Police Officers and ECZ officials calmed the near crisis as the long queue of voters some of whom lined up as early as 04: 00 hours was divided into two for female and male voters , respectively.

A police officer found at the scene controlling the crowd of male voters called for reinforcement of other officers.

” The situation was very tense this morning , but we have calmed the situation as you can see we created three streams for voters to cast their votes. You can see the queue for women voters is almost complete, ” said one ECZ official who sought anonymity.

He said there was an urgent need for more male personnel to help control the long queues saying the women officers are not able to do this.

Meanwhile, long queues characterised Moseni pollling station at Muchinga Basic School, in Zingalume township in Matero Constituency with some voters filing as early as 03:30 hours this morning.

Hundreds of young and old voters were found on long queues outside the school’s gate meandering through into respective polling station’s streams.

One of the Presiding Officers, Jama Mbambara, told ZANIS in an interview that seven streams have been created to enable voters cast their votes according to alphabetical order.

Mr Mbambara anticipated that the number of women voters was likely to increase in the afternoon after they complete their respective household chores.

He described the situation at the polling station as calm.

” All is going well. we slept here straight from Nakatindi hall ( after getting the ballot papers). ” he said.

And a United Party National Development (UPND) monitor, Blaston Shawa, expressed satisfaction with the voting process adding that the party had done its ground work to win the tripartite elections.

Meanwhile, President Rupiah Banda this morning was in Chipata district, Eastern Province where he cast his vote at Nyakutwa basic school.

President Banda who arrived at Chipata airport at 09: 10 hours this morning immediately drove to Nyakutwa polling station, Chizongwe polling district in Msanga ward of Chipata Central Constituency where he cast his ballot at exactly 09:30 hours.

ZANIS reports that he was the 304th person to cast his vote out of the 1,067 voters who were registered at the polling station.

President Banda said he felt relieved after casting his vote and said there is need for all citizens to exercise their right to vote when he addressed journalists shortly after casting his vote at Nyakutwa basic school.

The Head of State later escorted the first lady to Anoya Zulu polling station where she voted at 10 hours.

The First lady Thandiwe was number 215 person to cast her vote at Anoya Zulu which has a total number of 736 registered voters in Kapata ward of Chipata Central Constituency.

President Banda returned to Lusaka shortly after the scheduled business at around 12 hours noon.
ZANIS

ZANIS

Voting is under way in various parts of the country with voter turn out being described as very good.Today September 20 Zambians are voting in the 5th tripartite elections since the re-introduction of multiparty politics in 1991.

The atmosphere is relatively calm and peaceful in the country with long queues reported in various polling stations.Some voters are said to have been at the polling station as early as midnight.

There have been a few glitches in some polling stations, with ballots arriving late causing delays.Some polling stations in Mandevu are said to have no electricity and residents are appealing to Zesco to restore power promptly.

The atmosphere is charged with excitement as well as suspicion amidst rumours of pre-marked ballot circulating.There are reports that some Kanyama residents are said to have impounded a truck believed to have premarked ballots.They opened and burned the materials which turned out to be campaign materials.

Ten presidential candidates are vying for the top seat, with incumbent President Banda and PF’s Michael Sata viewed as the top contenders. The 10 parties will also be jostling for the 150 parliamentary seats and hundreds of local government positions.

By George N. Mtonga:

John Maxwell, the evangelical Christian leader, once said ” If we’re growing, we are always going to be out of our comfort zone.” In order to move forward, one has to have the courage to move out of his/ her comfort zone. When you are driving on a highway in any major city, you have to keep in mind your exist on the corner that you need to take to get off the highway and go to where you are going.

If I’m going from Lusaka to Ndola, I will take the road all the way until I get to the roundabout in Ndola, going to Masala Market and go into Masala compound to see my grandmother. Despite of how far I have been driving, when time comes to make a change I have to signal the other drivers that I’m turning to the left side or the right side and take the exist without defying any traffic laws. Can Zambia make an effort to change direction? Or should we keep on the same highway? Is it time to exist or are we going to take the same road and continue on that road?

Political change does not come easy. In 1964 we fought tirelessly to gain Independence from Britain and thereafter to gain the ability to run our institutions; even if our legal system and manners of operating our institutions have retained their British origins we nonetheless felt that we needed to take an exist and make a different corner on EXIST 1964.

Our country then got on a highway called Dr. Kenneth Kaunda Highway and we drove the country on that highway for 27 years; with bumps, promises, achievements, fights, and triumphs all experienced on that highway. The highway at one point seemed endless, we thought we could take that highway forever until we decided to exist the highway in 1991 using EXIST 1991 and we got on the MMD Highway. We have been taking that road from 1991; of course we have had different drivers unlike the highway of 1964 to 1991. My concern, though, is have we as Zambians reached a point were we need to take an exist from the MMD Highway? Should we change highways or should we stay on the same highway? This is a decision that has to be answered by each single Zambian considering their personal priorities and their priorities for our country.

Obviously, political change is difficult.It requires an existential shift that often changes the very reality that we are used to. However, countries in this world have afforded us the blueprint on transitions, change, and complete 360 revolutions as was the case for the Arab World recently. Zambia of course does not need a revolution we are far much more sophisticated than that and we have managed to develop a political system that in theory makes transitions far much more easier than other countries.

However, as we vote for the next president we should ask ourselves important questions about our future: WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE IN 2016 when the new president’s term expires? The man for this job has to present a political vision that is clear and indicates the improvement that they intend on making and not present a CV that champions their past achievements and obscures the future! Our politicians fighting for the highest office should find time to clearly explain where they stand on the issues that concern the Zambian people.

Other than childish slogans, and vitenges with their faces on them what is their position on Education, development, or women’s rights? Where do these people stand when it comes to health issues concerning women, what is their attitude towards AIDS/HIV? WE NEED TO KNOW because these are the issues that our nation is facing!!

The habit of handing out clothes, beer, or any other material enticements merely obscure the Zambian people from figuring out if we need to stay on the same highway or take an exist and which exist should we take if we decide to make one.

As Zambian citizens we need to demand far much more from our politicians and stop playing the victim because in the end we elect them; we put them to power, our tax money pay for their houses, their cars, and their clothes; this at the least is enough of a reason for us to demand answers!! Even a Chief Executive Officer of a company is put before the board of that company to answer questions. If the company is loosing value, or not competing effectively in the industry the business is in the CEO has to answer questions or loose their job.Our president should be given the same scrutiny; even before we hire him for the job!! Zambians deserve that scrutiny because the decisions of our politicians affect every aspect of our lives.

It is important that we make an effort to ask ourselves where we are going and where we want to be in 2016. Politics will always be there, insults will always exist; but once 2011-2016 passes it is rendered history!! What will these years bring to Zambia?

As human beings we should always have a dialog between our past and our future, and merge them in such a way that they give us the opportunity to make intelligent decisions in our present. Let us consider where we have been from the exist we took in 1964 and traveled on the Kaunda Highway and then the exist we then took in 1991 on the MMD highway and ask ourselves where we hope to be in 2016; the decision is coming whether we should make the exist in 2011 or we should continue on the same highway.

THE DECISION is up to the Zambian people and that decision will reflect where we as Zambians will want to be in 2016; WE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE STATE OF OUR COUNTRY AT THAT TIME. Iam confident that above all, we will do whats right for our country and our future!!