Maravi

Go, register so that you can vote

Go, register so that you can vote
By Editor
Thu 24 June 2010, 04:00 CAT

Go, register so that you can vote for the right persons when the time comes.

We remind you that registering as a voter so that you can vote in the next elections is not only your right, but also your duty. If you don’t register as a voter, you will not be allowed to vote when election time comes. By not registering as a voter, you are effectively withholding your vote. If you withhold your vote, Zambians run a risk of getting into public offices people who have no national interest at heart and who are going to jeopardise your future and that of your children and your children’s children and so on and so forth. Exercise your right therefore and take up your citizen duty.

Neglecting to register as a voter will stop you from participating in the choice of leaders at all levels. And this brings catastrophic results to the nation. It is a great mistake to shun this responsibility. Every citizen is called upon to play his or her part conscientiously, that is, all those who have reached voting age should register and participate in electing leaders who have the necessary qualities. And moreover, if you don’t register as a voter, you will not be able to contest the next elections. And this means that even if you have leadership gifts, you will not be able to contest and serve the people. If a person has received the necessary talent by the favour of God, that person would fail in one’s duty if he or she failed to register as a voter and take up his or her share in public life and affairs. Any person who is qualified to become a leader is guilty if she or he refuses the task. We say this because the apathy of potential leaders can bring anarchy to the country by leaving all the responsibility to inefficient and unworthy people.

You have rights and duties as citizens and the love of your country urges you to register as a voter and to act accordingly in all justice and charity. We therefore urge all our people to register as voters and make full use of their right to vote and consider it not only a citizen responsibility but also a Christian responsibility to do so.

And in the light of all this, we make a special appeal to those running government that they have a serious responsibility. As facilitators of elections, they should ensure that the concerns of all key players are adequately addressed. We also make an appeal to the opposition political parties about the need for them to be open and constructive in participating in the electoral process which appears to start with voter registration.

It is important that all citizens who qualify to register as voters are helped to do so with minimal difficulties. We say this because elections are the central institution of our democratic representative government. And the authority of the government derives solely from the consent of the governed.

The principle mechanism for translating that consent into governmental authority is the holding of elections in which all citizens who qualify register as voters and participate in free and fair elections to choose their representatives. A government chosen by a small group is not a democracy – no matter how democratic its internal workings may appear.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia commenced the voter registration exercise on Monday, June 21, 2010. The process will run for 90 days countrywide in selected centres. All the people that registered in the last elections – the 2006 elections – are not required to renew their cards. Only those who did not register or those who have attained the voting age of 18 are required to register. Those who have relocated also need to register as well. The Electoral Commission of Zambia says there might be another voter registration exercise next year if funds are available. However, there are concerns with this approach in that the updating of the voters’ roll might be problematic. Some people have died since the last voter registration exercise while others may not be in the country. There is a feeling that it might be difficult to guard against ghost voters and other abuses. The Electoral Commission of Zambia needs to explain to the satisfaction of all key players how they plan to update the register without creating opportunities of people buying voters' cards which may in some way be used to manipulate the outcome of next year’s elections. Out of this fear, there are growing calls for a new and clean register.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia says it wants to capture 2.5 million new voters. But it may be helpful for the Electoral Commission of Zambia to explain how the verification will be done for both the new and old registered voters. Given the possibility of having another exercise next year, it appears the Electoral Commission of Zambia might have to update the voters roll twice. They need to guard against the errors of 2006 where people were being turned away on voting day by ensuring that all the problems and errors of the past years are eliminated.

There are also concerns that not many people might be captured because there hasn’t been much publicity about this exercise; many people don’t seem to know anything about it. People need to know the centres they are supposed to go to, especially in rural areas since not all areas are being used for registration.
The issuance of National Registration Cards is raising a number of concerns. If many people have not been captured in this exercise, they might not have a chance of registering. A lot of people placed emphasis on the importance of National Registration Card issuance. But it was not easy at all for people to get National Registration Cards because the whole process was marred with difficulties, people were being turned away, materials were running out. Many people did not manage to get their National Registration Cards. Of course, the Ministry of Home Affairs assured that they would continue giving National Registration Cards at the centres in the districts. But it would have been better to issue as many National Registration Cards as possible so that people can register as voters within this stipulated 90 days. It will be better for the Electoral Commission of Zambia to have another voter registration exercise next year so that those who obtain National Registration Cards after the given 90 days are given an opportunity to also register as voters.

There are also concerns about the issue of materials which always run out whenever the country has an important exercise of this nature. People spend a lot of time on queues only to be told that the materials have run out. And in such situations, there are no extensions to cater for the period when there were no materials. We hope the Electoral Commission of Zambia has put in place adequate measures to ensure that this exercise is conducted in an orderly, effective and efficient manner.

Labels: VOTER REGISTRATION

posted by MrK @ 2:17 PM