2008 polls have failed test of democratic elections – CEG

2008 polls have failed test of democratic elections – CEG
Written by Fridah Zinyama
Monday, November 10, 2008 7:36:31 AM

THE Centre for Elections and Governance (CEG) Zambia has said the just-ended presidential elections had failed the true test of a democratic poll. In a press statement yesterday, CEG field team leader for Election Monitoring, Kapasa Sikazwe, stated that all contesting parties and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) did not give the electoral process an opportunity to be free and fair. Sikazwe stated there were a lot of anomalies in the electoral process conducted by the ECZ.

“For instance, the ECZ did not conduct an effective voter education campaign, most of its communication materials were outdated and failed to respond to the needs of registered voters,” he stated. “Furthermore, the ECZ printed ballot papers in South Africa without the regular consultation with stakeholders. It printed 600,000 extra ballots papers without consulting stakeholders which created a lot of confusion and suspicion.”

Sikazwe added that the ruling party also announced a price reduction for essential commodities, among them fuel, mealie meal and fertiliser countrywide and things changed barely a week after the poll as prices shot up suddenly.

“It is because of some of the above reasons why we strongly feel that the electoral process was not conducted in a democratic manner and could have contributed to the voter apathy,” he stated.

Sikazwe stated that it was important to ensure that such inconsistencies in the electoral process were avoided so as to win back the confidence of the people and reduce on voter apathy.

“As CEG, we suggest that ECZ is transformed into a truly independent Electoral Commission whose structures will stretch from Lusaka to the districts, with ECZ having its own officers and infrastructure it can control, unlike the situation at the moment where the commission relies on other wings of government, including law enforcement agencies in whom the people do not have confidence,” he stated.

Sikazwe further added that it was important for politicians who had taken a swipe at media houses to reconcile with them so that the public can have a wider coverage of what is happening.