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Demand credible polls - Caritas

Demand credible polls - Caritas
By Misheck Wangwe
Wed 02 Mar. 2011, 04:01 CAT

THE government has failed to address the challenges that are hindering the country from having free and fair elections, Caritas Zambia executive director Samuel Mulafulafu says.

Mulafulafu said Zambians must be united and compel the government to come up with measures to enhance the credibility of this year's general elections.

He said it was sad that the government had continued to fight the people over important clauses such as the 50 per cent plus one threshold for winning the Republican presidency, which was meant to enhance democracy and the legitimacy of the president.

“We want to see a very competitive but free and fair election, the outcome of which will be the genuine will of the people and command greater legitimacy. We call upon the government again to listen to the wishes of the people because it is in the interest of all participating political parties and candidates to be products of a credible process if they win,” Mulafulafu said.

He said political parties, the Church and citizens could not continue to overlook the way most elections had been conducted which subsequently led to doubts about the credibility of the polls.

He said the country was in need of voters who would stand up and say no to vote buying and other malpractices that had been taking place during elections.
Mulafulafu said one of the causes of continuous politicking at the expense of development was doubt over election results.

“When elections are stolen and a party imposes itself on the people, citizens continue to challenge its rule. What has happened with respect to 50 per cent plus one sets a stage for these conflicts. We can forestall these doubts by having integrity in our electoral process,” he said.

Mulafulafu said the quality of elections conducted in Zambia reflected on the leadership in government.

He said it was not feasible for the country to hold credible elections if potential voters continued facing challenges when obtaining national registration and voter registration cards.

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CARITAS

posted by MrK @ 8:14 PM