Maravi

Why is Rupiah speaking for ECZ?

Why is Rupiah speaking for ECZ?
By The Post
Wed 17 Aug. 2011, 12:20 CAT

We agree with Rupiah Banda that no one should be allowed to derail the 2011 tripartite elections on flimsy grounds. It will not serve anybody’s interests to derail elections whatever the reasons, flimsy or otherwise. It is important that elections are held and held on time. This is why whatever issues that anyone may have need to be resolved and resolved quickly. Burying our heads in the sand will not help. If anything, we may be setting ourselves up for a big fall, for which we all could end up paying very dearly.

We say this because issues have been raised about the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s choice of the printer for our ballot papers being embroiled in allegations of proven acts of corruption with officers of the Commission. Those allegations have raised a legitimate question that needs to be answered.

That question is: if Universal Print Group is engaged in corruption, bribery and money laundering with officers of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, what else is it engaged in? This question is raised against the background that many of our people do not have confidence in the electoral process of this country.

There is a widely-held belief that the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the MMD have repeatedly interfered with the electoral process to advantage MMD presidential candidates. This is not a belief that should be ignored and dismissed as baseless because even if one could say it is baseless, it is a belief that our people hold firmly. This means that their reaction to elections may be informed by this belief which could result in undesirable consequences.

The post-election violence that we have observed in other countries is not always a result of proven wrongs done by the electoral commission. We say this because in the period after the election and the time when violence and mayhem breaks out, there is normally no one able to conclusively prove what has gone wrong. This means that the people who react, and usually do so spontaneously, react on the basis of the perception that they have of the electoral process that has produced the results that they are not happy with.

Managing perceptions before the elections, therefore, becomes critical to achieving an election that can be regarded as free and fair and representative of the will of the people.

How then should perceptions be managed? First, it is important to have an electoral commission that is representative of all stakeholders in such a way that it is not seen as the election wing of the party in power. Clearly, this is a weakness that our Electoral Commission suffers from. Many things have been said about it: fair and unfair.

But we ought to remember that we are talking about perceptions here and their potential effect on the acceptability of the outcome of an election. We therefore need to pay attention to whatever is said, fair or unfair. Paying attention to what is said means that we give ourselves the opportunity to address the concerns of the public at large in such a way that they feel represented by the Electoral Commission.

It does not, for instance, do our Electoral Commission any good when it is perceived as an umozi kumawa commission, a commission that only represents one part of our diverse nation. This perception leaves the Electoral Commission of Zambia fundamentally crippled in its duty to engender confidence in its ability to run free and fair elections.

This handicap requires the utmost humility on the part of the Electoral Commission of Zambia if it is going to surmount this negative perception. In other words, the Electoral Commission of Zambia needs to reach out more and be more accommodating, particularly to the opposition if it is going to increase the perception of its own independence and ability to run a free and fair election.

It is against this background that we need to analyse what is being said about the Universal Print Group contract to print ballot papers.

Rupiah has come out openly, on more than one occasion in full defence of the award of this contract. That, in itself, raises unfortunate issues for the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Why is Rupiah so dogged in his defence of Universal Print Group? What is it that Universal Print Group is going to do for Rupiah which he does not want to lose?

It is clear that enough information now exists in the public domain which demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that Universal Print Group has been engaged in corruption at the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Why is it that, notwithstanding this information being in the public domain, Rupiah is defending Universal Print Group and declaring that there will be no delay in the elections? Who has said they want a delay in the elections? Why is Rupiah worried about a delay in the elections?

It is also worrying that the Anti Corruption Commission which has all the information that confirms that Universal Print Group has been involved in corruption at the Electoral Commission of Zambia is prepared to tell lies. Is it too far-fetched to conclude that Rupiah’s government and the Anti Corruption Commission which is claiming to be independent are acting in concert to deceive our people?

We say this because it is not conceivable that the spineless Anti Corruption Commission director general Godfrey Kayukwa can cook up such a lie without making sure that he has the full support and backing of his benefactors in the government. This unholy alliance between Rupiah’s government and the Anti Corruption Commission does nothing to diminish the perception that the coming elections may be manipulated.

What should concern us more, however, is the behaviour of the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Their behaviour is very similar to someone who buys or receives a stolen property. You may be forgiven for enjoying that stolen property if you had no reason to believe that it was stolen.

If, on the other hand, a well-meaning person was to approach you and let you know that in fact, the goods that you have received which you seem to be enjoying very much are stolen property, you would have to be a criminal yourself to say ‘I don’t care, there is nothing I can do about it’. In other words, if you become aware that by your action, you may unwittingly be a party to a criminal offence, the little law that we have learnt tells us that you might have to do something about your situation.

Not least, you may have to go to the police and say ‘it has come to my attention that the goods that I received from X,Y,Z, were in fact stolen from A,B,C’. If on the other hand you begin to engage in all sorts of gymnastics to hide the fact that the goods that you have received were stolen, you become a willing party to the commission of the criminal offence.

This is the position where the Electoral Commission of Zambia finds itself in. It is conceivable that some among them may not have known what was going on with Universal Print Group behind the scenes. But now they know. What they do hereafter determines whether they become criminals themselves or they remain respectable citizens in good standing with the law.

Some individuals in the Electoral Commission of Zambia may claim that they were not part of the symphony of liars that has been working in concert in trying to deceive our people about the corruption of Universal Print Group. But now they do not have that excuse. They have been offered evidence about this corruption. What are they going to do to ensure that they repair the tattered image of their Commission and the perception that our people have that they have been used to subvert their will?

As we said in the beginning, in the matter of relating to the public, managing perception is as important as delivering the service that the people need. So far, the Electoral Commission of Zambia and their intemperate reactions to legitimate and very serious concerns raised on the character of Universal Print Group have done nothing to improve their standing. No one is calling for the elections to be delayed.

We take note of what Wynter Kabimba, the Patriotic Front secretary general, has said in this regard. He has raised concern about Rupiah vouching for Universal Print Group. Indeed as he asks, in what capacity is Rupiah vouching for Universal Print Group? Is he the Electoral Commission of Zambia spokesman? Rupiah has even gone so far as to say the poll date won’t change, which pronouncement, although not undesirable, raises the question: in what capacity is Rupiah speaking on behalf of the Electoral Commission of Zambia?

Our penny’s worth of advice to the Electoral Commission of Zambia is this: please, embrace dialogue and don’t allow Rupiah to be your spokesman.

Labels: ECZ, RUPIAH BANDA, WYNTER KABIMBA

posted by MrK @ 4:21 PM