Maravi

ECZ, govt told to respect people’s right to register to vote

ECZ, govt told to respect people’s right to register to vote
By By staff reporter
Sun 22 Aug. 2010, 04:00 CAT

MPIKA Catholic Diocese Bishop Ignatius Chama has advised the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the government to be serious with governance issues. Bishop Chama said there was need to respect people’s rights to register as voters and ultimately their right to vote.

Bishop Chama said he was disappointed with the manner in which the Ministry of Home Affairs conducted the mobile issuance of National Registration Cards (NRCs) in Mpika District.

Bishop Chama said it was unfair to exclude the people of Luchembe from the process by not sending the officers there to issue NRCs.

He said the people of Luchembe could not afford to cover the long distances to the registration office in Mpika.
“This is torture. How do you expect people to register as voters when in the first place they do not have the NRCs?” asked Bishop Chama during his homily at Luchembe Catholic Centre last week.
“As if it is not enough, ECZ also has not indicated the dates when the voter registration officer will be in Luchembe and Kanchibiya land resettlement because the field mobile registration of voters will be ending on the 18th of next month. If there will be poor turn-out of registered voters, it is government to blame because it has deliberately failed to fund ECZ adequately.”

Bishop Chama said it was disheartening that huge sums of money were being spent on by-elections at the expense of the voters registration exercise, an important process.

And Mpika Caritas director Father Patrick Chibuye complained about the poor response to the voters registration exercise.

Fr Chibuye attributed this to lack of publicity of the exercise and non-issuance of NRCs to people in remote areas.
He said about 450 people in Katibunga and 320 people in Luchembe village had not obtained NRCs and could not register as voters although they were eligible.

“If government was to carry out the NRC issuance like the way ECZ does, many people would not have been left out without having NRCs,” Fr Chibuye said.

Fr Chibuye appealed to the government to reconsider sending back the officers to issue NRCs to the people in remote areas.

Labels: ECZ, IGNATIUS CHAMA

posted by MrK @ 5:03 AM