Maravi

‘Let the will of the people prevail'

‘Let the will of the people prevail'
By The Post
Tue 20 Sep. 2011, 09:10 CAT

TODAY is voting day. It is the beginning of the end of our electoral process.
Good and bad things came out of this election campaign. We saw how ugly politics can be. We also saw how good things can be each time one stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice.

Principled politics, dignified politics, honest politics send forth a tiny ripple of hope. This has been a campaign for the souls and the future of Zambia.

Let us use our votes to lift this nation to a higher destiny, to a new plateau of compassion, decency and humanity. Let us leave the filth of this campaign behind us. And let us take with us the nobility of this campaign into the Zambia of tomorrow. We have a lot of unfinished business.

There are a lot of things that need to change in our country and we stand for change in order to march again towards enduring ideals.

We do not have to settle for things as they are. It gets dark sometimes, but the morning comes.

Let us use our votes today to make Zambia better. Let us all realise, and have this in our minds and hearts, that this country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless it is a good place for all of us to live in. What we are saying is rooted in a straightforward view of society, in the understanding that the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles and standards and common aims and values.

And those on whose shoulders fall the responsibility of conducting today's election, we urge them to do an honest job, to avoid all forms of electoral manipulation, irregularities or fraud.

Those whose job is to collect the results and tally them, we appeal to them to work diligently, effectively, efficiently and in an orderly manner to ensure that the tallying of vote totals is conducted as openly and possible, so that the Zambian people, whatever their political affiliations or inclinations, are confident that the results of today's elections are accurate and that the government that will emerge from today's elections does, indeed, rest upon their consent.

Our people want to see that what is recorded as the result at a polling station is the same as what was counted from the ballot boxes. What was in the ballot boxes should represent the votes actually cast by eligible voters. In other words, the results that the Electoral Commission of Zambia declares must be auditable back to the ballot box. The polling station results must match the aggregate of the results from the streams in each polling station.

What this means is that the Electoral Commission of Zambia must make sure that the results that they declare are those that have come from these elections. It may have been possible in the past to accommodate what might have been called mistakes, but it should be fully understood that in this election, that would be disastrous. We say this because it is very easy to rig an election by giving a preferred candidate small but critical bonus votes across all the streams and polling stations. If such a trend is noticed by those who will be studying these numbers, disaster could easily be unleashed on our country.

For those whose job is to monitor these elections, we appeal to them to work tirelessly and ensure that all mistakes are promptly corrected and no room is given to irresponsible people to do wrong things that will set our humble people against each other. It is also their job to ensure that the results that the Electoral Commission of Zambia are declaring at every stream and polling station are also recorded by themselves. And the totals they are keeping should tally with those at every other level and should be in agreement with the results that the Electoral Commission of Zambia finally announces.

This is the beauty of transparency which allows observers to be able to verify and confirm results. In the past, it was only the Electoral Commission of Zambia who kept a record and tallies of election results.

This time, there will be a counter check. If the Electoral Commission of Zambia announces results that are different or that do not tie up with what the observers or monitors have, then we are in serious trouble and no one should be expected to accept those results. Electoral Commission of Zambia computer printouts should not and cannot be accepted if they differ from the results that are declared at the polling stations.

In fact, it would even be better and prudent, to have these printouts verified and signed by the monitors and representatives of the candidates before the Electoral Commission of Zambia tries to announce the results. Why are we emphasizing this? The reason is simply that in the past, our elections have not been accurate and the Electoral Commission of Zambia has announced wrong results, results that do not tie up with the totals at the various polling stations. But in these elections, the Electoral Commission of Zambia will not be the only ones with the results. Observers, and even the political parties themselves, will be able to collect the results from the streams or polling stations as they are declared by the returning officers, tally them and transmit them to others. No one will have the results alone.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia will only be making a formal announcement of the results that are already known by many other people. Accuracy cannot be compromised in this election. Doing so risks the peace and stability of our country.

Many outstanding citizens of our country, including the founding father of our Republic Dr Kenneth Kaunda, have spoken on the need for peace. They have stressed the message of love, the very heart of the good news, as being most fundamental to our survival and growth as a nation. That message is timeless. Only love unites. Love leads to honesty in everything. Those who love their neighbours cannot engage in electoral fraud, deception, cheating, manipulation. They cannot engage in acts that amount to rigging of elections.

Honesty, in everything, is the deep desire of all who seek to walk the path of peace. A nation united in purpose, in the pursuit of true ideals such as justice, truth and honest elections, cannot fail to enjoy the blessings of peace. To live together peacefully and harmoniously requires responsible behaviour and honesty in the conduct of elections and other political contests.
If, in any way, you are engaged in electoral malpractices, stop it, don't do it, back out. There is no peace that can be maintained without honest dealings.

Each one of us can only contribute to the maintenance of peace in our country by building the ark of peace in our own hearts. Peace in our country is only possible if there is peace inside our hearts.

It is pointless to call our people to peace, to deplore disorder in our country if we fail to pinpoint the part each of us individually plays in the creation of a political environment that leads to conflict. Electoral malpractices, fraud, manipulation, deceit lead to conflict. Fair political competition, free and fair elections, accurate election results that truly reflect the wishes of the people is what guarantees peace before, during and after elections.

Those who have contributed or are working to contribute to the denial of these things are not working for peace, are promoters of conflict and should be held accountable for the absence of peace in our country.

It is important to realise that the source of conflicts is not solely out there. It is first and foremost located inside the hearts. Conflicts spring from the hearts that are full of hatred and full of greed for power. Peace, as recent world events remind us so vividly, is a frail and fragile possession. So much in us and about us conspires against peace and unity.

Progress would be destroyed by greed for power that leads us to cheat in elections to keep ourselves in power. The forces of discord that unleash themselves in the blood and destruction of conflict are hidden in every human heart. Too often, they surface, to the great distress of others, in the frequently lamented evils of electoral fraud, injustice in all its sordid and selfish guises.

Honest elections are needed and we must all ensure that no one is today given an opportunity to defraud our people of their votes. We must be vigilant and confront every electoral malpractice that may be attempted today in the polling stations, in the counting of votes, in the vote tallying centers and in the announcement of election results. A complete conversion of heart is needed. Electoral fraud will achieve nothing permanent and good.

Zambia can be saved only by a genuine revolution of love, by violence to our selfish interest that lead us to do wrong things, to be unfair to others and to attempt to rig elections.

We will conclude by reiterating a point that was made on September 14, 2011 by the apostle of the struggle for independence and the founding of our Republic comrade KK: "Let the will and the interests of the people prevail without let or hindrance so that Zambia can maintain its historic reputation as an Oasis of peace and tranquility."

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS

posted by MrK @ 4:07 PM