Maravi

Another lie from Kunda

Another lie from Kunda
By The Post
Sun 20 Mar. 2011, 04:00 CAT

It is not the first time that George Kunda is trying to criminalise the good intentions of Caritas, SACCORD and even ourselves.

George has an evil mind and because of this, he is not able to see the good intentions of others who are not part of his evil league. There is nothing evil or sinister in what Caritas and SACCORD are calling for in parallel vote tabulation. Evil people see their evil in others. They have difficulties believing anyone can be well intentioned simply because what they see in others is the reflection of themselves.

Parallel vote tabulation is not a recipe for anarchy or chaos in the country. It is actually a recipe for peace, harmony and tranquility in the nation. What causes chaos after elections is the belief in people that their votes have been stolen and that the electoral process has been manipulated to produce a result that is incorrect. Parallel vote tabulation, instead of undermining the electoral process, works to encourage confidence in the process and to deter electoral manipulation. And this practice is gaining increased acceptance in many countries that want to have election results that are not only accepted by the winners but also the losers. The Russians say ‘trust but verify’.

Independent parallel vote tabulation helps to verify the accuracy of the figures provided by the electoral commission. Independent tallies of votes do not in any way undermine the credibility of the electoral process. It instead increases public confidence in it because it ensures that if mistakes are made, they will quickly be detected and corrected by the electoral commission. This, it cannot be denied, will serve as an important deterrent to electoral fraud and thereby increasing public acceptance of election results. And where election results are accepted by the public, the possibility of post-electoral violence, chaos or anarchy are eliminated or greatly reduced. Where there is parallel vote tabulation it is easy to manage conflict if serious allegations of electoral manipulation are raised by anyone. And no one should deceive people that parallel vote tabulation is designed to provide a quick count to be announced to the public. We say this because parallel vote tabulation will depend on the input from the vote counts that have been conducted by the electoral commission and announced or published at polling stations. Parallel vote tabulation is simply a system of independent vote tallying. Clearly, parallel vote tabulation is not intended in any way to undermine the mandate or work of the electoral commission. It is simply designed to deter anyone from attempting to manipulate the vote count. In this way, parallel vote tabulation provides the electorate with added confidence that the elections were conducted fairly and that the tallying of the vote totals was accurate. It also adds a sense of transparency as the election would be seen by the electorate to have been conducted in a manner that was as far as possible open to public scrutiny. In this way, when the election results are finally announced by the electoral commission, the losers accept the judgement of the voters. If the incumbent party loses, it turns over power peacefully. No matter who wins, both sides should be in a position to agree to cooperate in solving the common problems of the nation. In this way, the losers, now in the political opposition, can continue to participate in public life, with the knowledge that its role is essential in any democracy worthy of the name.

We know that all this is very difficult for George to understand because he judges others by his own evil and low standards. Both Caritas and SACCORD are managed by people with sufficient integrity and honour to act honestly and in the best interests of the Zambian people. Manipulating election results is not in the best interest of the Zambian people. Cheating in elections cannot in any way promote the common good. It is George and his friends who try in every way possible to manipulate the electorate by telling them lies about Caritas, and the Catholics in general, SACCORD, their political opponents and other key non-political players so that they are discredited. It is George and his friends who abuse public resources to corrupt voters so that they can give them their votes. Look at what they do during any election: they distribute free mealie-meal, sugar, bicycles, fertilisers and even money to the electorate who before the elections were not considered to be worthy recipients of all these things. Can such people claim to be men and women of integrity and honour? Look at the way they abuse the state-owned media to manipulate public opinion by slandering, libeling, smearing their opponents with filth and lies? Can men and women of honour and integrity behave in such a manner?

George says Caritas, SACCORD and The Post are trying to bring chaos in the country by advocating for the parallel vote tabulation system in this year’s elections and that he knows what these three organisations are up to. What are these three organisations up to? George says they have information about parallel vote tabulation and that it is announcing results based on sample results. What nonsense is this? What type of lies are these? Parallel vote tabulation is not about announcing results based on samples. It is simply a verification process to ensure that the final results that are announced by the electoral commission tally with those that the electoral commission has itself counted and announced at the various polling stations. Even with our own personal bank accounts we do tally the transactions that we have entered into and compare that with what the bank gives us in its statement. In a word, this is called reconciliation. And it helps a lot because so often our banks get it wrong. With reconciliation we both arrive at the correct figure and move on in agreement and in consensus. This removes possible conflict between our bankers and us as to what is the correct balance on our accounts. This is all what parallel vote tabulation is about. Anything that will help us to reach a common conclusion, understanding and consensus over our elections and its results should be encouraged and supported.

And in the light of all this, we make a special appeal to George and his friends to realise that they have a serious responsibility to conduct peaceful, credible, free and fair elections. And as facilitators of this year’s elections, they should ensure that the concerns of all key players are adequately addressed. Telling lies about the concerns and suggestions of others will not help as to have peaceful, credible, free and fair elections this year. George and his friends need to open their hearts and minds to the constructive suggestions being given by other stakeholders in this year’s elections, including the concerns and suggestions of the international election observers they have invited. There is no honest person who can discredit in totality and discard the value of parallel vote tabulation. It’s only crooks, those with a fraudulent mind and those who want to manipulate our electoral process who can behave the way George is behaving. But as we have said before, George always defends that which is wrong, that which is fraudulent or corrupt. And his position on parallel vote tabulation is no exception, it is simply a continuation of his evil thoughts and deeds.

Elections should never be a matter of fraud or coercion since that will break the sacred character of democracy. Respect for human dignity requires that elections are conducted well. It is sad when elections are marred with fraud, manipulation, deceit and unfairness because free and fair elections in choosing leaders are absolutely necessary in a democratic process. It is essential for the government and the political parties to respect the people’s voice and choice.

Labels: CARITAS, GEORGE KUNDA, SACCORD, THE POST, VOTERIGGING

posted by MrK @ 6:34 AM