Maravi

Nominations set for Sept 23

Nominations set for Sept 23
By Noel Sichalwe
Thursday September 11, 2008 [04:00]

ELECTORAL Commission of Zambia (ECZ) director Dan Kalale yesterday announced that the nomination period for presidential elections will start from September 23 to 26 this year. Briefing the press, Kalale said during this period, candidates needed to have 200 supporters who were registered voters and that each candidate would pay K20 million non-refundable nomination fee.

Kalale said after the nomination process at the Supreme Court, the returning officer, the Chief Justice, would announce the successful candidates together with the unsuccessful ones.

He said from September 26, the campaign period would commence until October 29 around 17:00 hours. He warned that people that would be found campaigning after that date would be violating the electoral code of conduct.

He said ECZ has since sent transparent ballot boxes to all constituencies in the country in readiness for the elections. Kalale also said ECZ would soon start the voters' sensitisation programme throughout the country.

He said ECZ was also discussing with the Ministry of Education to allow people that have lost their voters' cards to make replacements at the nearest schools instead of going to the council offices for those in villages.

And Kalale said accreditation of local and international observers would be conducted during the nomination period. He said candidates for the Ndola Central and Mwansabombwe parliamentary by-elections would file their nomination on September 27 and would be required to pay a K500,000 nomination fee.

Kalale said there would also be nominations for 13 local government by-elections countrywide and candidates would be required to pay K150,000.

Kalale, who urged people to report public officers that would be abusing public resources to campaign, said only the President and the Vice-President were allowed to use government resources during campaigns under the law.

Labels: ECZ, ELECTIONS

posted by MrK @ 6:57 AM