Zambia’s presidential candidates held a joint meeting Friday with ECZ officials to discuss issues affecting the October 30 presidential poll.

The candidates present at the briefing were Heritage Party president Brigadier-General Godfrey Miyanda, United Party for National Development president Hakainde Hichilema and Patriotic Front president Michael Sata. Mr Rupiah Banda could not attend the meeting as he is in Luapula Province to commission the Levy Mwanawasa bridge. Rupiah Banda was represented by his agent, Benny Tetamashimba.

The candidates agreed to post election results outside each polling centre to avoid suspicion of vote-rigging in this month’s election, an official said.

“We have agreed that the results should be posted outside the polling centres immediately after the count,” said Michael Sata.

The opposition raised issues concerning biased media coverage, especially by the state-run Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), which runs both a television and national radio.

The candidates rejected the decision by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to print 600,000 extra ballot papers.

“In every election, you will never see a 100 per cent turn out…why print a lot extra ballot papers,” Mr Hichilema said.

Gen Miyanda said he was of the view that the issue on extra ballots should be discussed when the actual ballots were in the country so that they could debate on facts.

Brig-Gen Miyanda said he had raised the issue of opposition parties being stopped from addressing rallies in places where Mr Banda was doing the same.

Brig-Gen. Miyanda said he wished Mr Banda had been at the meeting to hear it for himself.

Mr Tetamashimba said it was not true that the opposition was being barred from holding rallies. When asked on his campaigns, Gen Miyanda said there were many ways of killing a rat.

“ There are many ways of killing a rat. Why did you not cover me in Kabwe or Kapiri Mposhi,” he said in response to a question as to why was he is not going out in rural areas to campaign.
Mr Tetamshimba described the meeting as successful though another one would be held on Wednesday next week to conclude the matter on the extra ballot papers.

Mr Sata said the discussions were cordial and commended ECZ chairperson, Justice Florence Mumba, for operating in a transparent manner.

“The meeting was very fruitful. Justice Florence Mumba is going in the right direction and needs our support and protection,” Mr Sata said. He however, called on ECZ director, Dan Kalele, to be more transparent in the manner he was running the institution.

Mr Hichilema felt the meeting as reasonable and said that political parties had raised a lot of issues that needed to be addressed to have a free and fair election.

He said others issues he raised were the use of public resources during campaigns.

Mr Tetamashimba said Mr. Rupiah Banda could not be at the meeting because he was waiting for Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, who was expected in the country to commission the Levy Mwanawasa Bridge in Chembe.

Printing of Presidential ballot papers which started on Friday last week at South Africa’s Universal Printing Company has been concluded and the consignment was expected to be dispatched to Zambia from Durban via Johannesburg last night.

ZANIS reports from Durban that a check at the plant last evening by stakeholders who are here to witness the exercise found stitching of the electoral materials being done and some of the ballot papers had already been packaged. Universal Printing Company Special Projects Consultant Vik Vaid said printing finished  Thursday afternoon and 4, 523, 150 presidential ballot papers had been printed. Mr Vaid also said work on about 2 000 ballot papers for Parliamentary and 13 local Government by elections had also been completed.

‘Work is on course. We have printed as ordered by ECZ and the truck which will carry the ballot papers will depart Durban for Johannesburg on Friday evening’. On the presidential ballots which had some error, Mr Vaid said this was a minor issue and it had been rectified.

“We have since reprinted the ballot papers whose polling station name and I.D was missed by the machine on the covers”.  This is a non issue and the covers have since been reprinted’. He said.

Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Senior Public Relations Officer (SPRO) Sylvia Bwalya expressed happiness at progress so far recorded.
‘We are satisfied that the job has been done on time, looking at what has been covered so far’. She said.
All the electoral materials are expected to depart Johannesburgh at 11 hours aboard a chartered South African Airways and would arrive in Lusaka at 13 hours on Sunday.

The presidential election will be held on October 30 with parliamentary and local government by elections for Ndola Central, Mwansabombwe and 13 wards across the country respectively.Political party (MMD, PF, HP and UPND) and Civil Society representatives (FODEP, Zambia National Women’s Lobby and Transparency International Zambia have been here (Durban) since Thursday last week to monitor the exercise.

Others present are representatives from Christian Council of Churches in Zambia, Drug Enforcement Commission, Anti Corruption Commission and the Zambia Police.Meanwhile, ECZ Commissioner Joseph Jalasi has said electoral officials comprising Town Clerks and District Secretaries from all the 72 districts in the country would receive their electoral materials. Commissioner Jalasi said the electoral officials would verify the consignment at the airport before taking them to respective districts.
‘Packaging will be done district by District’, He said. He implored various political parties to witness the arrival of the ballot papers on Sunday and ensure that right materials have been received.

The ECZ Commissioner also advised respective political parties to randomly go to polling stations and establish whether the documents had correct information against the document the Commission would give them.

‘I implore political parties to go randomly to polling stations to establish whether serial numbers will be the same against the document they will be given by ECZ’, He said.

The Government has challenged people with information that it plans to rig the forth-coming October 30, elections to come out in the open and provide evidence.

Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, Mike Mulongoti said people with information on how the purported rigging would be conducted should alert the government so that action could be taken against those who would be found wanting.

Mr Mulongoti who is MMD chairman of elections said it was saddening that people had continued to issue statements without providing facts with a view of tarnishing the image of the Government.

He further described the reports of rigging as malicious and that those who were issuing such statements were aware that they would not win the elections and were trying to draw attention.

He assured the public that there was no need to fear or worry because it was interested in conducting a free and a fair elections for the benefit of the people.

“We think that people are just being malicious and are trying to attract attention that we are planning to rig, we don’t even know how this is done maybe they have an idea on how it is done and so ask them. They are just scared because they are seeing the defeat in their face,” he said.

The minister said it was not possible for the elections to be rigged because all the points were monitored by all political parties and civil society and wondered at what point the elections could be rigged.

And Mr Mulongoti said the MMD party was still intact and that everyone was working according to assigned tasks and dismissed reports of division in the ruling party.
He said the party and its members were working together as one team.

Times of Zambia

UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema says he is not seeking the Republican presidency for monetary gains because he is already comfortable.

He said unlike other presidential aspirants in the October 30 polls, he was comfortable and joined politics as a mere service to the people of Zambia.

Mr Hichilema said this in Petauke on Wednesday when he addressed a public rally at Mizyu Ground.

He said the salary of the president was nothing compared to the money that he had acquired in his private business.
He said he could be counted among the first five Zambians with more heads of cattle.

As a result of that, he would ensure that he helped in setting up dip tanks if he was elected president.

He advised Zambians not to elect a president on tribal lines, adding that countries with successful economies were those run by young leaders like himself.

Mr Hichilema cited the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is under Joseph Kabila, Botswana ruled by Ian Khama and Tanzania by Jakaya Kikwete, among others.

Earlier in the day, Mr Hichilema toured Petauke main market where he bought various foodstuffs and urged the traders to vote for him.

Soon after visiting the market, he travelled to Chipembe, a distance of 20 kilometres from Nyimba, where he addressed another rally.
Mr Hichilema later moved to Nyimba where another rally was held.

When his motorcade arrived in Nyimba, some suspected MMD cadres displayed their party symbol to Mr Hichilema, a move that angered his supporters.

He approached the cadres and told them that there was no need to antagonise one another because they were all Zambians.

Some police officers who were assigned to ensure that law and order was maintained at the rally cautioned the suspected MMD cadres and one was arrested for allegedly destroying Mr Hichilema’s poster.

Times of Zambia

Zambia opposition parties are accusing the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) of vote buying ahead of this month’s presidential election. The opposition parties say government’s sudden release of funds yesterday (Thursday) estimated at several billion Kwacha for development activities in communities across the country is a calculated attempt to influence the election. But the government dismissed the accusations saying community development cannot wait. A Mr Mulonga told reporter Peter Clottey from the capital, Lusaka that the timing of the development funds is generating controversy.

“That is true because the opposition parties were yesterday saying the government is trying to hoodwink voters into voting for the ruling party candidate Rupiah Banda. Yesterday, the government announced the release of Constituency Development Funds amounting to billions of Kwacha. But the opposition parties and other stakeholders have rejected the move saying why should the government release this money now instead of before or after the election. They are saying the fact that the government is releasing the funds during this campaign period it is trying to work on the minds of the voters,” Mulonga noted.

He said some observers see the government’s action as a political ploy to garner votes for the ruling party in this month’s presidential election.

“They think that the move intends to make the ruling party’s presidential candidate look as if he is the working man trying to solve the country’s problems. And that Rupiah Banda (the ruling party’s presidential candidate) is the only man who can bring development to Zambia. So, the voters should go out in their numbers and vote for him,” he said.

Mulonga said the controversy surrounding the community development fund could influence the election.

“That is an open ended question, which can go either way because some people believe that the government is going to deliver if they vote for Rupiah Banda. They are arguing that development cannot wait just because there is an imminent election and that the government has got to do its work. But I also agree with those who say that the move can attract voters to swing to the ruling party,” Mulonga pointed out.

He said there seems to be a keen interest in this month’s presidential election.

“People have been following this subject from the time the president died, Dr. Patrick Levy Mwanawasa because we are talking about 400 billion Kwacha ($106 000,000,000) for the election, which is quite a lot of money coming from the treasury of Zambia. So, we had a briefing yesterday from the electoral commissioner of Zambia, Justice Florence Mumba who told reporters that the government has provided the electoral commission with a substantial amount for the elections. And the cooperating partners through the United Nations Development program have also contributed money towards the election,” he said.

Mulonga said Zambians are expressing confidence then election would not be hindered because of help coming from the international community.

“So, Zambians are quite clear that the election would proceed and all the financial hiccups that were expected have been handled. So, now people are more optimistic and are just watching the candidates and deciding who is going to sell their manifesto and who is going to be the best leader for Zambia,” Mulonga pointed out.

He said the electoral commission is being proactive to pluck loopholes to prevent vote rigging in the election.

“Those are some of the issues, but the electoral commission has been emphasizing that the electoral system of Zambia cannot accommodate rigging because it is quite secure. They have actually asked all the players to send monitors who would monitor the results of the election in various constituencies for their various parties in this month’s presidential election,” he said.

VOA