Maravi

AVAP calls for more voter registration centres

AVAP calls for more voter registration centres
By Moses Kuwema and Agness Changala
Thu 17 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT

THE ECZ should increase the number of registration centres especially in rural areas, says AVAP. And political parties in the country have been urged to make every effort to sensitise their members to take advantage of the extension of the voter registration exercise to register as voters.

Commenting on the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s decision to resume the mobile voter registration exercise which closed last in year in November, Anti Voter Apathy Project executive director Bonnie Tembo said there was need to have a lot of centres as this was the last opportunity that people had of registering.

“We welcome the extension, it clearly shows that the ECZ is concerned about the number of voters they captured not being enough. This time around they need to do their best to ensure that they meet the 2.5 million target and they can only do that if they open up more centres in rural areas and they sensitise the people,” Tembo said.

He said the commission should work with the Department of National Registration to ensure that more people are registered as voters as they obtain their green National Registration Cards.

Tembo also called on the ECZ to carry out more sensitisation in rural areas because the voter registration exercise will be conducted during the rainy season when people will be cultivating.

And Tembo has appealed to Zambians living along the border to be on alert so that foreigners who were obtaining National Registration Cards illegally do not register as voters.

And Electoral Commission of Zambia public relations manager Chris Akufuna said political parties must sensitise their supporters in addition to the publicity and voter education programmes that the commission is carrying out.

Akufuna said following the representation from stakeholders to consider another extension of the mobile voter registration exercise and the release of funds from the Ministry of Finance, the mobile exercise which came to a close on November, 30, 2010 will resume for 21 days from March 10 to March 31, 2011.

He said during the extended period of registration of voters, officers will be deployed in each ward for 10 days.

“Each district will have a deployment timetable, which will be availed to stakeholders,” Akufuna said.

He said voter registration at the civic centres and other designated places will continue until March 9.

He said the commission will also work with the Department of National Registration to ensure that more people were registered as they obtain their green National Registration Cards.

Akufuna said the Ministry of Finance has also started releasing funds for the payment of allowances owed to all registration officers and voter education facilitators, as well as for goods and services provided by suppliers for the 2010 voter registration exercise.

Labels: AVAP, ECZ, VOTER REGISTRATION

posted by MrK @ 8:15 AM