eBy Patson Chilemba
Sun 06 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT
RUPIAH Banda’s government is preparing the minds of Zambians to reject the outcome of this year’s elections results, says Lusaka lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe.
Reacting to attacks from information minister Ronnie Shikapwasha that it was foolish for him to say that the MMD’s trend of rigging the elections was likely to continue during this year’s general elections, Dr Chongwe said in fact it was those in government who were preparing the people to reject the results should it result in an MMD victory because of their conduct.
He said the attitude of those in government towards the holding of credible elections was very worrying.
Dr Chongwe said the hounding of justice Florence Mumba from the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the abuse of state resources on the holding of MMD provincial conferences and the abuse of the state-owned media by those in government pointed to the fact that President Banda was not ready to conduct a free and fair election.
“By their very conduct they are preparing the minds of the people to reject the results. Only this week there was a report by a political activist, who is a member of an opposition party in Eastern Province, of all places, alleging that the government is starting to register people, opening up a register outside the register, which by law is supposed to be opened by the Electoral Commission of Zambia,” Dr Chongwe said. “That obviously is illegal and unconstitutional and evidence of rigging.”
Dr Chongwe said Zambians should be concerned about the current happenings with regards to the MMD conduct.
“There is nothing in my view sinister in the administration of the elections office by justice Mumba. And I am surprised that the people who gave her the job did not come to her rescue. They appeared to have agreed with them protesting workers,” he said.
Dr Chongwe said it was illogical and myopic for those in government to label those who raised concerns on the conduct of elections as opposition members.
He said the people had a duty to tell the government to be fair in their dealings with their opposition colleagues.
Dr Chongwe said there was too much anger emanating from those in government when people talked about the need for a credible election.
Dr Chongwe said the MMD government had already embarked on the process to rig the 2011 elections.
He said it was a fact that the political playing field was not level.
“They are using government resources like Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail, ZNBC, including public transport for politics. The President of this country has been flying from one province to another, conducting provincial elections. That is not a national duty, that is part of rigging,” Dr Chongwe said.
“When we talk about rigging we are talking about so many things, falsifying figures, using government resources to the disadvantage of others.”
Dr Chongwe expressed surprise at President Banda’s recent statement that he would only announce the election date when the MMD national executive committee (NEC) had put in place a campaign strategy.
“That is not politics in a multiparty. That is politics in a one-party state. That is not allowed by article 1 of our Constitution. That behaviour should change to conform to the system of government that we agreed to in 1990. It is the behaviour of a party which is buried in one partism, and that is illegal,” he said.
Dr Chongwe said Shikapwasha and Mulongoti were political novices who joined politics when rigging had already been ingrained in the MMD DNA.
He maintained that all the general elections the MMD government had conducted since 1996 were rigged by the ruling party.
Dr Chongwe wondered what more evidence those in government wanted to hear when former intelligence chief Xavier Chungu testified that the 2001 general elections were rigged.
Reacting to Chongwe’s earlier statement that the credibility of this year’s election was in serious doubt, Shikapwasha was quoted in last Friday’s edition of the Times of Zambia as saying that it was foolish for Dr Chongwe to make rigging allegations.
“That is a foolish statement coming from a man who is even a doctor in law. How does the Patriotic Front (PF) win elections in Lusaka and the UPND (United Party for National Development) in Southern Province?” said Shikapwasha.
He said the country’s electoral system was transparent as it allowed all stakeholders and players to monitor the process.
In the same edition, Mulongoti said Dr Chongwe was preparing people’s minds to reject the election results when they lose this year’s elections.
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