Maravi

Masebo predicts tough time for women in 2011 elections

Masebo predicts tough time for women in 2011 elections
By Mwala Kalaluka
Tue 02 Feb. 2010, 10:30 CAT

CHONGWE MMD member of parliament Sylvia Masebo yesterday expressed fear that the 2011 general elections will be difficult for women to participate in because of the increasing levels of political violence.

And the Zambia Law Development Commission (ZLDC) has noted that elections and conduct of elections are human rights issues.

During the hearing of submissions on the electoral process and institutions in Zambia from the Anti-Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) by the parliamentary committee on legal affairs, governance, human rights and gender matters, Masebo said it seemed Zambia had been engrossed in violence.

“I am worried as a female member of parliament that 2011 will be very difficult for women to participate. It seems all of us have become violent,” said Masebo as Bahati PF parliamentarian Besa Chimbaka added that it was not only women parliamentarians who would be affected by the violence.
In response to Masebo’s concern, AVAP executive director Bonnie Tembo said his organisation was also concerned with the levels of political anarchy ahead of the general elections.

“We are seeing it. It has affected all the players and also the media are also victims of the violence,” Tembo said. “If you politicians put this country on fire, some of you will fly away from this country.”
In his submission before the committee chaired by Monze Central UPND member of parliament Jack Mwiimbu, Tembo said he hoped that his submission would find some space somewhere.

Tembo said the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s dependence on the Executive was a source of concern to many.
He explained that this was the reason AVAP had suggested that the ECZ should be accountable to Parliament in terms of sources of funding.

“The Electoral Commission of Zambia on their own fails to make decisions. Sometimes you have to move in to make decisions for them,” Tembo said. “In terms of making decisions the ECZ has to sit up. As long as they continue depending on government we will continue having difficulties.”
Tembo said ECZ could not make decisions, as long they did not have people that were accountable to them in the electoral process.

“Now we are hearing that the ECZ is beginning to talk about decentralisation,” he said. “ECZ lacks technical and logistical capacity to conduct free and fair elections. How can you have ECZ dwelling on a defective voters’ register?”
Tembo said the current national voting college of 3.9 million was a distorted one.

“The Electoral Code of Conduct is always observed in breach by you politicians, us NGOs and us the media,” he said.
Tembo further urged politicians to ensure the enforcement of part seven of the Electoral Act.

“We accept when you are giving t-shirts to your cadres, but when you start giving iron sheets we ask ‘where are the party symbols on the iron sheets?’ That is a disaster. When you start grading roads at midnight when the ECZ is watching,” Tembo said. “When you start reducing the value of our chiefs it’s not okay. When you start parading our traditional leaders…I will have respect for Western Province in this country…there is no chief in Western Province who can be paraded at a rally. I can also have respect for chief Mporokoso…these other provinces it is free for all that is why some of them chiefs would want to be in politics.”

Tembo said there was need for plan B on the desire by Zambians to have a new constitution before the 2011 elections by amending the Electoral Act to suit the people’s aspirations on the electoral regime.

“Amend the Electoral Act to accommodate what will facilitate the 2011 elections,” Tembo said. “If we are dreaming that we are going to have it new constitution, I doubt it. We must be strategising on how best we can explore plan B because time is moving, because 2011 is not waiting for us.”
And ZLDC director Annette Nhekairo and her deputy Joyce Macmillan submitted that the ECZ, which constitutes the country’s electoral machinery, had been accused of lacking independence and autonomy, as well as being subject to manipulation and being controlled by the President.

Nhekairo said they noted the recommendation of the Electoral Reforms Technical Committee (ERTC) that Article 34 of the current Constitution should be amended so that the President could be elected on a majoritarian system.
“The first element of free and fair elections is democracy and good governance,” said Nhekairo. “Participation by both men and women is cornerstone of democracy.”

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, ELECTIONS, SYLVIA MASEBO, WOMEN

posted by MrK @ 11:12 AM