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Rupiah resisted to leave power, reveals Magazine, Chibaula Silwamba.
Why Rupiah cried
By The Post
Thu 13 Oct. 2011, 14:00 CAT
We have noticed that some people have been misled into believing that Rupiah Banda willingly gave up the presidency because he was prepared to respect the wishes of the people and he is therefore a good democrat.
Rupiah did not respect our people when he was president. He made a classical mistake of over-confidence. He looked down upon our people so much that he believed that he could rule them for however long he wanted. Maybe this is the advice that he got from his deceased political mentor Frederick Chiluba. We say this because that was Chiluba's mindset as well. Although Chiluba claimed to have been the founding father of democracy, he did not believe in democracy.
And when Chiluba was engaged in a political struggle, he believed in using undemocratic methods that militated against the functioning of the very democracy that he claimed to have fathered. Chiluba is supposed to have told the late Dean Mung'omba that Zambians were so docile that he could rule for as long as he wanted. Chiluba believed this, hence his attempt at a third term.
But the Zambians that he believed to be docile showed him the way out of State House. In his reincarnation as special advisor to Rupiah, Chiluba shamelessly told the nation that he would use all kinds of tricks, including international ones, to ensure that his preferred candidate, Rupiah, won the election. In his bragging, Chiluba forgot that our lives are not ours but they are in the hands of God. That is all we are prepared to say about Chiluba for now.
When the campaigns came, we could all see some of the tricks that were being employed to ensure that Rupiah won regardless of what our people wanted. Clearly, Rupiah thought he could manipulate our people. This country has never seen the amount of election materials, or indeed bribes flowing in an election as was the case with the MMD campaign. They were prepared to subvert the will of the people by flooding them with gifts - wanted and unwanted.
In the last 90 days of Rupiah's presidency, his government degenerated into panic mode and started senseless road works which could not be finished in the time required in a bid to woo voters to his side. This did not work. Rupiah ran a corrupt government which accepted bribes and illicit commissions as normal. With this newly-acquired wealth, Rupiah believed that he could buy the electorate. It is this over-confidence that cost him dearly.
There is no doubt that his loss caught him by surprise. The many pundits that he had accumulated, including very respectable international think-tanks, told him he was winning the election, albeit by a narrow margin. How they decided that the narrow margin would swing in Rupiah's favour is not for us to say. But those predictions lulled Rupiah into a deep sleep of false comfort.
To him, as long as he was throwing money at the electorate and outspending the opposition, he had won the election. More cynically, Rupiah had begun to believe his own propaganda. They kept Michael Sata out of the state media and the only attention he ever got from them was probably the biggest propaganda and character assassination campaign seen in our country.
Rupiah and his minions were so impressed by the lies and defamation that they threw at Michael that they started to believe it. This was to be their undoing. As a result of this overconfidence, Rupiah who promised to pummel Michael in the election and leave him punch-drunk was himself punch-drunk after the polls. He did not believe what had hit him.
We are not, therefore, surprised with the information that is now emerging about the events that occurred in the period after Rupiah realised that he was losing the election. The article from Africa Confidential is very instructive. It helps to put Rupiah's character in proper prospective. It also helps us to understand what happened in the immediate aftermath of the election.
It also helps us to ask interesting what ifs. The biggest ‘what if' is what would have happened if we did not have parallel vote tabulation? We say this against the background that Rupiah and his minions had put up a very spirited fight against parallel vote tabulation. How did they finally agree to have parallel vote tabulation?
It seems we have the influence of the US government to thank for that. This is because it appears to us that the decisive event that made Rupiah reluctantly accept parallel vote tabulation was the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This brings us to the next big ‘what if'. What if Hillary had not visited Zambia?
It is clear that Rupiah only gave up power because he thought there was no alternative. If the election could have been rigged, it was going to be rigged. There was some rigging but clearly, it did not help them as much as they hoped. And as a result of that failure, today we sit with a new government in power.
Rupiah's overconfidence and his having reposed his confidence in money saved the country from a heartless tyrant who would have caused so much heartache in the country had he received a full five-year mandate. The picture that emerges from the information now available is that Rupiah did not intend to give up. But what is more worrying is that he was prepared to tamper with the election and rob the people of their victory.
We must be grateful to those patriots who, in their own way, stood up to stop this. But we must also be vigilant and work to unearth all the wrong things that may have happened in the last election and ensure that dirty tactics are never again used to undermine our democratic process. Rupiah's attempts bring us yet another cold and chilly ‘what if?' What if those who refused to help Rupiah subvert our democratic process did not refuse? Where would we be today?
There is a lesson in that courage to do the right thing is what it takes to serve a nation. For that reason, we salute every Zambian, and even foreigners who stood up to Rupiah and helped to save our democracy. Today, we can write as we do because there is peace in our country. And we thank God for this peace.
As for Rupiah, the wrongs that he did and the wrongs that he tried to do will haunt him until his dying day. Let this be a lesson to all those who wield power on behalf of our people that it is better to use it to serve one's people than to enjoy it for its own sake. Rupiah may not have wanted to give up power but he had no choice in the matter. He put his trust in money and tyranny.
And when it mattered most, these vices failed him. Rupiah was taught that money could buy you friends but not their affection. In the end, when Rupiah realised that his confidence had been misplaced, all he could do was cry because he discovered he had lied to himself and how painful that was.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CORRUPTION, DEMOCRACY, FREDERICK CHILUBA, HILLARY CLINTON, MARK STORELLA, MICHAEL SATA, RUPIAH BANDA, VOTERIGGING
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Masebo starts election petition process
By Joe Kaunda
Thu 29 Sep. 2011, 16:40 CAT
SYLVIA Masebo has directed her lawyers to commence the petition against her loss in the recently held Chongwe parliamentary election which she says was fraught with massive irregularities.
Masebo, who contested the seat on the PF ticket, said she had since handed over evidence to her lawyers MNB Legal Practitioners to show that the elections were characterised with massive rigging and abuse of resources by those in government, including the former president, Rupiah Banda.
"The whole government machinery through the president, including the now former first lady was used to rig the elections," Masebo said.
"There was the intimidation of voters after the president threatened to dethrone our traditional leader, senior chieftainess Nkomenshya Mukambo II. This intimidation by the president even caused apathy among voters and violence by the MMD. Then there was also massive vote buying."
Masebo cited the distribution of relief maize, government hammer mills, sewing machines and sinking of boreholes in selected villages.
"The former first lady distributed tractors and money to women's clubs. Public resources were distributed from Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development, Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, the CEEC Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission to selected groups. Even suits were given to headmen," she said.
"Soldiers in the barracks were paid their long outstanding dues on the day of the elections, there was ferrying of voters on the election day and the introduction of pre-marked ballot papers,"
She said it was saddening that these abuses took place in all the 58 polling stations in Chongwe Constituency leading to her loss to MMD candidate Japhen Mwakalombe.
Masebo said she had gathered all the evidence on the ground and witnesses to prove that the election was not free and fair.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CORRUPTION, MMD, SYLVIA MASEBO, VOTERIGGING
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Police seize 37 MMD vehicles
By Maluba Jere and Chibaula Silwamba
Wed 28 Sep. 2011, 14:20 CAT
POLICE in Lusaka have seized 37 of the many trucks that were being used by the MMD during their campaigns in last week's elections which saw PF's Michael Sata being elected Republican President.
Sources within the police yesterday told The Post that the trucks were seized early this week and police were investigating how the vehicles were brought into the country and whether or not duty was paid on them. The source disclosed that there were about 47 trucks which were shared among MMD officials when it was announced that Rupiah Banda had lost the election.
The source said although there were few vehicles parked at Lusaka Central Police, more were believed to have been taken to different parts of the country.
When contacted for comment, Lusaka police commanding officer Mhlakeni Zulu said the trucks parked at the police were found abandoned by the MMD at their campaign centre in Woodlands while others were discovered at an inactive garage in Koumboka area.
"We found them abandoned so we suspected that they were not meant for a good purpose," he said. "We want to establish how they found themselves not attended to because this is property with value and someone should account for them."
Asked whether the police investigations would be extended to allegations that the trucks were brought into the country without paying duty, Zulu said if those allegations were proved and need arose, Interpol international police would be involved.
"Our concern is to secure it property and if we establish that someone was trying to be funny, we will arrest them," he said.
And captured fugitive, William Banda, has been transferred from Chipata to Lusaka to face charges bordering on inciting violence.
Sources confirmed that a three-vehicle convoy carrying Banda, the MMD Lusaka Province chairperson accused of political violence during the fallen-regime's heyday, arrived in Lusaka at dawn on Tuesday.
"William Banda was brought to the Police Force Headquarters around 03:00 hours this morning. He was brought under tight security. He has now left force headquarters and taken to Lusaka division," a highly placed source said.
Police spokesperson Ndandula Siamana also confirmed that Banda had been brought to Lusaka from Chipata because the alleged offence was committed in Lusaka.
Siamana said police were still investigating Banda for allegedly proposing violence during last week's general elections campaigns.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, MMD, PF, VOTERIGGING
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MMD-hired voters emerge as Mulyata uproots communal tap
By Roy Habaalu in Mongu
Tue 27 Sep. 2011, 10:40 CAT
ALERT PF officials on Saturday impounded trucks carrying people that were suspected to have been ferried to vote in Sikongo on their return trip to Lusaka. And former Mongu Central member of parliament Joseph Mulyata has uprooted a community tap that was installed using Constituency Development Funds (CDF).
The Patriotic Front officials, led by Mongu district chairman Mulenga Tembo and other members, effected a citizens arrest on the suspected voters at Mulamba harbour around 14:00 hours.
Before going to the police station, the voters were briefly interrogated at the harbour, where they said they were told to travel and vote for Rupiah Banda and the MMD candidate Mundia Ndalamei.
"What can we do? We were just told that all was in place: food, transport and allowances for us if we voted for MMD and president Banda. We wanted money because we're suffering. Some of us were registered in Lusaka but arrangements to vote in Sikongo were made by the provincial administration," said one of the voters during an interrogation.
Sources at the Provincial Accounts Control Unit (PACU) said an accounts clerk was sent to Sikongo to pay voters coming from Lusaka and facilitate for their accommodation and meals.
"Those voters were paid K1 million each for the seven days they spent there. Billions of money meant for poverty reduction and developmental projects was sent to Sikongo to pay voters that were coming from Lusaka. One officer Abel Mkandawire, an accounts clerk, was the one paying those voters and the chap became arrogant because he thought MMD would win. The chap was openly campaigning for MMD and bragged that if MMD wins those that tried to block him would be dealt with," said the source.
"Government vehicles were released by the provincial office to help campaign for the MMD."
Western Province police commanding officer Phanwell Siandenge said the voters were released, pending further investigations. Meanwhile, a check by The Post in North Park area found the tap removed with only holes remaining.
"Mulyata himself removed that tap because he felt betrayed that his own relatives (Mbundas and Luvales) who are the majority in the area didn't vote for him. He was angry that they cheated that they would vote for him but things turned out otherwise. This Don't kubeba slogan taught us a bitter lesson," said an MMD official.
Mulyata had not been seen in public a day before voting and recently wrote to the police that his life was in danger.
Meanwhile, former Kanyonyo MMD councillor Yowano Chisambwe locked himself and family in the house for two days after PF supporters surrounded it, demanding that he be arrested.
The jubilant supporters told Chisambwe to take the list of alleged Linyungandambo members he had prepared to the police.
"He prepared a list of our names, warning that if MMD wins, we will be arrested. Come out and arrest us, we are here; arrest us. You thought you would steal forever; we are here, arrest us before we arrest you," they shouted.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CDF, CORRUPTION, JOSEPH MULYATA, MMD, PF, VOTERIGGING
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ECZ's dangerous inefficiency
By The Post
Wed 21 Sep. 2011, 15:20 CAT
THE organisation and conduct of these elections has revealed a very dangerous levels of incompetence, inefficiency, ineffectiveness and disorderliness. It is very dangerous to run elections that are poorly managed and coordinated, especially in today's political atmosphere that is characterised by high suspicions of rigging and other electoral malpractices or fraud.
These are probably the most highly watched, guarded and followed elections in the history of our country. Many people are very alert and vigilant and are analysing and trying to interpret every happening, every phenomenon. They are suspicious of everything that goes outside the norm, the programme.
Our people were told by the Electoral Commission of Zambia that voting at polling stations would start at 06:00 hours and end at 18:00 hours. But many polling stations opened late yesterday, opened many hours later.
Voters were at some polling stations as early as 03:00 hours but could not vote many hours after 06:00 hours. This made some of them suspicious that this might be a ploy to rig the election, to frustrate voting in the opposition strongholds, and so on and so forth. Late opening of polling stations may lead to people not voting if voting stops at 18:00 hours.
If it is extended, the voting may be done in the night and consequently delay the counting and the declaration of results at the polling stations and the final announcement of the winners.
And we have a situation in Lukulu West, where voting at some polling stations could not be done yesterday, and can only take place today. This is a recipe for trouble, for anarchy in a political atmosphere that is highly charged with suspicions or fears of rigging.
In Kanyama, a man was found with unauthorised ballot papers in his possession. We are also told people have been found with unauthorised ballot papers in other parts of the country.
How was this possible? Given the low level of honesty and integrity on the part of Universal Print Group, the printers of our ballot papers, it cannot be easy to convince our people that these ballot papers were not part of a rigging scheme.
Again, this is a recipe for conflict because these results may be difficult for the losers to accept.
It is difficult to accept results of an election where there are many ballot papers that are flying around and cannot be accounted for.
In some polling stations, ballot boxes were delivered without lids or covers. How are these going to be used without risking manipulation? It is very easy for one to empty ballot papers into a ballot box that has no lid.
Many people may start wondering whether this was accidental or was a deliberate ploy to rig elections.
There are some polling stations that were relocated to other places without prior notification to voters who had registered there.
They woke up to go and vote only to find a polling station had been moved. And with already highly-suspicious minds, it is easy for people to believe all these as attempts at rigging.
And in Lusaka, National Registration Cards were being issued on the day of voting, on a holiday without prior announcement to the public. This is a recipe for trouble. Actions of this nature seriously undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia will have very little public sympathy and understanding because its officers had been very arrogant, intolerant and defensive. They hardly listened to criticism or suggestions of stakeholders other than the MMD.
They only did that which the MMD found desirable or were comfortable with. They had no reason whatsoever to feel conceited and arrogant. We say this because modesty helps one to go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind. This is a truth we must always bear in mind.
The commissioners and managers of the Electoral Commission of Zambia have become arrogant and high-handed in their behaviour towards opposition and civil society stakeholders, portraying them as trouble-makers or unreasonable people, without seeing their own shortcomings.
Running elections across a country covering over 755,000 square kilometres of sometimes difficult terrain is not an easy undertaking. It requires the participation of many people. It requires listening attentively to the views of all stakeholders.
If what they say is right, they ought to welcome it, and they should learn from their strong points; if it is wrong, they should let them finish what they are saying and then patiently explain things to them. But this is not the way the Electoral Commission of Zambia has been operating.
Look at the way they turned a blind eye, they turned their backs on the corruption and bribery activities of Universal Print Group and went ahead to use them in the printing of ballot papers without allowing any discussion or some consensus to be reached among all the key stakeholders over this issue.
Today, their arrogance, their lack of humility has caught up with them. They have failed to run efficient and orderly elections. They have no answers or explanations to the issue of ballot papers that were found in the hands of unauthorised people.
We ask them again: what have you to say about these ballot papers that have been flying around? How are you going to assure the Zambian people that you have run an honest election whose results are accurate or correct and as such should be accepted by all?
Clearly, the organisation and conduct of these elections is below the standards expected by our people. It might have been possible in past elections for the Electoral Commission of Zambia to get away with such high levels of inefficiency and disorderliness but it may not be that easy for them to do so in these elections because the Zambian people have become extremely vigilant - and rightly so - and will not accept anything that may lead to rigging or some other electoral fraud or manipulation.
The only chance remaining for the Electoral Commission of Zambia to redeem themselves is in the counting and tallying of votes.
These will also be highly monitored. There will be very high levels of vigilance on this score. And any one misstep by the Electoral Commission of Zambia, they are gone, we are gone, we are in trouble. This being the case, a lot of care needs to be taken. Counting has to be done in the most transparent way, with everyone who should verify, verifying the counting. The tallying of votes also has to be very accurate.
And here the error margin is zero. Mistakes here may prove disastrous, may spark the undesirable. Therefore, the Electoral Commission of Zambia should not rush into announcing results they have not properly verified.
Any loss or distortion of election results in transmission may also prove disastrous because the Electoral Commission of Zambia are not the only ones who are tallying and transmitting results. There are other players, and if they happen to declare results that don't tie up with those of other players, they are in trouble, we are in trouble.
All these challenges point to the main structural problems of the Electoral Commission of Zambia. The Commission is too dependent on officers from the ministries of local government and home affairs whom they do not control.
Many of these officers are placed there strategically for the purposes of electoral manipulation or fraud. And it's a big challenge to control them. Even the Electoral Commission of Zambia itself is not entirely free from the pressures that are exerted on the Ministry of Local Government by those in power, who want to manipulate the electoral process.
There are officers placed at the Electoral Commission of Zambia for similar purposes by the same appointing authorities. Moreover, it is the same people who appoint both the Electoral Commission of Zambia officers and those from other ministries who participate in organising and conducting elections.
This highly compromises the impartiality, integrity and indeed the efficiency, effectiveness and orderliness of our electoral process. And it is a recipe for conflict.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, ECZ, VOTERIGGING
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Ballot papers and vehicles set ablaze
By Bright Mukwasa, Masuzyo Chakwe, Chibaula Silwamba and Maluba
Wed 21 Sep. 2011, 14:30 CAT
LUSAKA residents yesterday rioted after getting agitated due to the delayed opening of some polling stations and suspicion of attempted manipulation of the vote. And irate Kanyama residents yesterday beat up an ICT specialist from the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) who was carrying a box of ballot papers that were allegedly pre-marked on the presidential candidate.
In Lilanda compound, residents rioted after the ECZ delayed to open Lilanda East polling station.
Around 11:00 hours, Kanyama residents in Lusaka ran amok and fought running battles with the police after intercepting a Canter truck ferrying ballot boxes destined for other polling stations outside Lusaka.
The residents got agitated after allegedly ‘impounding' the vehicle carrying ballot boxes headed to Twashuka Basic School polling station, which the police attempted to rescue.
It was at that point that the residents began to riot.
The driver of the vehicle fled the scene but the residents said when they asked him why he was carrying such ballot boxes with wrong markings, he told them ECZ had a shortage of ballot boxes.
They threw stones and all sort of objects at the panicking police officers and set alight vehicles parked within Kanyama police premises.
The police, who were initially overpowered by the residents, retreated into the station until they called in reinforcements. But the situation degenerated around 11:00 hours.
When more police arrived in trucks, one of the officers fell to the ground after he attempted to jump off the truck much to the delight of the residents who threw more ‘missiles' at the policemen.
The police were forced to fire teargas canisters in people's houses just to disperse the rioting residents who had at the time started, chanting the, ‘we want change' slogan. The residents dispersed but stood in pockets still daring the police.
About seven youths were arrested and detained at the police station. A column of smoke emanating from a minibus and DAF truck torched by the residents could be seen from afar.
Other vehicles including a Toyota Corolla GRZ 22BL had their windscreens smashed.
However, in the other part of the compound, voting continued normally at Twashuka polling station.
"The confusion here started around 08:30 hours but by 11:00 hours had gotten worse," Godfrey Mwiinga, an eyewitness said.
"These people had put what they have been calling a ballot check point so they held a truck carrying ballot boxes with markings such as Kasaba Bay and Kasama.
So when the police came to rescue the driver, that's what seemed to have annoyed them."
Another resident only identified as Chiluba, said residents had formed a barricade because they wanted to ensure the ballots that were being ferried to Twashuka were ‘correct'.
"We just want to make sure everything is okay. We want a free election," said Chiluba while gasping for breath after running away from the police.
A check at Old Kanyama Mutandabantu found voting had continued after the commotion subsided.
Presidential ballot papers suspected to have been pre-marked were strewn all over the road.
"There was confusion here at some point but people continued voting as you can see," Charles Tembo said.
In Lilanda, residents threw stones after delays to open the polling station.
A Law Association of Zambia monitor Dumisani Tembo, who also had his vehicle stoned, said: "We arrived around six in the morning but while other places seemed ready for the poll, Lilanda East looked very far. There was literally nothing, no polling booths, no ballot boxes, there were only lids for ballot boxes. No voters' register, no presiding officer and no posters to indicate what stream this is. That's what started to cause the anxiety."
Tembo said when confusion started, he heard police fire gunshots to disperse the irate residents. He said in the process, some residents grabbed some electoral materials from a truck which they burnt within the voting grounds.
Some vehicles were smashed in the fray. Police officers on horseback were seen keeping vigil after voting had normalised by 9:30 hours.
Lusaka Province police commanding officer Mlakeni Zulu said the confusion was started by a group of people who were not even within the polling station and that police had apprehended four people allegedly involved in the confusion.
PF Matero parliamentary aspiring candidate Miles Sampa, who rushed to the scene, said he was worried that people who were supposed to vote had been terrified by the police's decision to move in the areas as they would be scared of the horses and guns.
"Around 04:00 hours when residents of Lilanda came to check on the polling station Lilanda Basic School, they found one classroom full of policemen and ECZ officials with the ballot papers and ballot boxes and all the voting material in one classroom. When they went to a farther classroom, they found that room had ballot boxes and voting material as well and there was no human being," Sampa said. "They were not guarded or attended to...so they suspected that those things were put in there for the purposes of foul play. That's when the problem started. The residents took those things and those are the things they burnt there."
At Kanyama, irate residents who blocked the road stoned President Rupiah Banda's billboard near the police station until they pulled it down as police officers watched helplessly.
According to an eyewitness, a light truck registration number ABZ 3864 arrived at Twashuka Basic School carrying one box of ballot papers.
The particulars on the identity card of the man carrying the ballot box showed his names as Abel Muwowo of national registration number 795790/11/1, ARO- IT from ECZ. The serial number of the ballot box was 0154860.
"When we saw the Canter, we approached them. There were two people and we asked what was in the box and the same Muwowo said there was nothing. But the box is transparent and we were able to see what was in there," the resident said.
The residents said they decided to forcefully open the box and discovered that there were presidential, parliamentary and local government ballot papers in one box.
They said some of the presidential ballot papers were marked and this angered the residents who started beating Muwowo and burnt the marked ballot papers.
Some concerned residents rescued Muwowo from the angry mob and took him to Kanyama police station where by press time he was still detained pending investigations.
And the visibly-shaken Muwowo said the ballot papers in the box found in his vehicle were not marked. He said he was delivering the ballot box to the presiding officer who was missing one box.
"I have been beaten as you can see. The ballot papers (for both the presidential, parliamentary and local government) were put in one box. They are not marked," Muwowo said.
Asked why he refused to show the residents the contents of the box, Muwowo said: "It was not me with the powers to speak like that. They are the ones who opened to check what was there. We were delivering them because we were taking them to the right places, to the owners at Nakatindi Hall. The owners were there. We were not accompanied by the police because what happened we were at New Kanyama and then the other officer, it was around 04:00 hours. He remained there and then we took the tables and other things as we were coming because the presiding officer was calling to say ‘I am missing one of the ballot boxes here'. It was the presiding officer who had put them there, it was not me."
Later in the day, voters in Nakatindi area in Kanyama burnt presidential, parliamentary and local government ballot papers, according to eyewitnesses.
The eyewitnesses said the voters burnt the electoral materials in protest against the delay in opening the polling stations. They said the polling station did not open up to about 13:00 hours, thereby angering the electorate that had waited outside the centre long before 06:00 hours, the stipulated time of starting the voting process.
Meanwhile, PF vice-president Dr Guy Scott yesterday said Lusaka residents were frustrated and provoked, leading to the fracas in Lilanda and Kanyama compounds.
Speaking at David Kaunda National Technical High School in Lusaka Central constituency where he is also a PF parliamentary candidate, Dr Scott said it was surprising that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the Lusaka City Council had badly organised the electoral process.
"There are lots of late deliveries of materials which have contributed to these disturbances. What we are wondering is whether this is a deliberate attempt to bring down the PF vote in Lusaka because it's the major contributor to the national score or whether it's just incompetence," Dr Scott said.
"There has been dirty play. The disturbances are due to frustration. People have been waiting for weeks to cast their vote, they arrived at 02:00, 03:00 hours in the morning, itching to cast their vote and then they are told, 'no, sorry the polling station is not opening'. The looting that follows can either be spontaneous or it can even be provoked. It's very easy to provoke people who are very frustrated into that sort of behaviour."
And the European Union (EU) elections observation mission chief observer Maria Muniz De Urquiza took note of the violence that took place in Lusaka due to delays in opening polling stations.
"But it seems these problems have been solved and polling stations have been opened and people have been allowed to vote. The impression we have is that everything is going mostly well and in a peaceful manner," she said.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, VOTERIGGING
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OP officers and rigging
By The Post
Sun 18 Sep. 2011, 13:55 CAT
RIGGING and other electoral irregularities are a violation of the rights of the voters. Those who engage in rigging or other electoral irregularities are committing a very serious crime against the individual voter and the society at large.
It is very saddening when law enforcement agencies are the ones behind rigging, electoral irregularities and fraud. It is unfortunate that today, our intelligence and security agencies are seen as the riggers of elections, as the perpetrators, abettors of electoral irregularities and fraud.
Many people in Zambia believe that elections are rigged by our intelligence and security services. Our people also believe that when those in power want to do wrong things, they use the intelligence and security agencies to do so.
Many of our people don't like the intelligence. The intelligence are a discredited profession in the eyes of most of our people. This is understandable because there is no way an institution that is used to rig elections, to do wrong things, to commit crimes can retain public respect.
And this being the case, there is need to redeem this very important institution and profession and put it where it is supposed to be.
What has led to this situation is the political abuse that our intelligence service has been subjected to. The intelligence system was not made to be abused by those in power. The intelligence service is for all Zambians and it is supposed to serve all our people and not just the man in State House.
The obligations of the intelligence service to the people should take precedence over loyalty to those in power, to the man in State House. If the man in State House wants the intelligence to rig elections for him, they should say no.
Our intelligence officers have an integral duty to protect all the citizens of this country. And no one is well served when the intelligence is used to do wrong things, to commit crimes, to rig elections. Our intelligence officers must therefore acquire the professional expertise to offer independent judgement and the moral courage to say no to any abuse.
Much like Shakespeare's court jester who was accorded special status to speak uncomfortable truths to those in power, intelligence officers must be able to tell those in power what they ought to know and not simply what they want to hear, and always do the right thing and not the wrong those in power want them to do.
In this way, we will ensure that our intelligence officers and agencies are viewed as a credible and noble force for good. This is especially necessary today when they are seen by many citizens as elements that are used to rig elections. The security goal that our intelligence officers must pursue must be one of peace, fairness, justice, honesty, stability, development, respect for human rights and good governance.
There is need for us to build a professional, effective and accountable intelligence that Zambia requires to meet the complex security needs of this century. Zambian taxpayers need value for money from our intelligence and security agencies. And to achieve this, very high levels of professionalism are required from all our intelligence officers and agencies.
Rigging elections is not only unprofessional but also an illegal and criminal act. It is treason.
All this said, we still believe in intelligence services and we should all do everything possible to ensure that our country has a good intelligence service.
No one should cheat themselves that we don't need an intelligence service in today's Zambia. We need it. And it has always been needed. What we don't need is a criminal intelligence service, an intelligence service that rigs elections, that engages in corruption on behalf of those in power or indeed on its own behalf.
And in saying this, we are looking back to the genesis of intelligence, where the Old Testament has God instructing Moses to dispatch spies into the land of Canaan. As societies evolved from clans into kingdoms, empires into nations; growing more complex and independent in their interactions with each other, so did the nature of the threats confronting them.
This meant that the need to gather intelligence grew, where states increasingly relied upon the vigilance of their lookouts to safeguard their interests, which today must include security, good governance and the wellbeing of their people.
These developments ultimately gave rise to the establishment of specialised intelligence structures that are a feature of modern governance. And in the unpredictable global world that we today inhabit, the necessity for intelligence has intensified; now more than ever, it is absolutely vital to be reliably informed, for as the saying goes "knowledge is power".
We therefore cannot afford to discard or neglect this old-age craft because it is being abused by those in power to rig elections and commit all sorts of crimes and engage in all sorts of wrongdoing. Yet its utility is expressly dependent on the professionalism of our intelligence officers and the extent to which they are able to recognise and deal resolutely with deficiencies, correct weaknesses and root out any abuse.
In a country like ours, striving to achieve a good level of multiparty democracy, intelligence services should be subject to a range of controls and oversight to facilitate their accountability and professionalism; keeping a close check on the legality, propriety and effectiveness of their activities. Of course, this in itself will not guarantee that no errors or mistakes are made.
But where mistakes are made despite the existence of these measures, they must counteract the potential for a recurrence and avoid fraud products, mindful of the words of an intelligence commentator: "That the medicine can, if not administered under the very strictest and widest supervision, have the effects which are as damaging as the disease."
It is for this reason that we need to enhance an awareness of the necessity for legality and propriety at all times. Our intelligence officers should be fully made to realise that they don't stand above the law; are accountable to all the Zambian people in their diversities and complexities; accept the principle of political non-partisanship; owe their loyalty to the Constitution, our people and the state; and appreciate that they must maintain high standards of performance.
Again, central to the attainment of all this are the responsibilities of our intelligence officers within their structures towards our people and to ensuring that at all times the law is strictly observed. Rigging elections is a violation of the law.
But this must not be interpreted as tying the hands of our intelligence officers and their agencies but rather as ensuring greater quality, accuracy and professionalism in their work and a deeper sense of personal confidence in their decision-making and actions.
Our intelligence service has suffered serious image degradation since the exposure of the corruption that was perpetrated by Frederick Chiluba and his intelligence chief Xavier Chungu using the intelligence Zamtrop account. What this has taught us is that whilst the development of laws and external oversight mechanisms are critical, our intelligence officers also need to look beyond them to internally regulate their own actual professional and ethical conduct.
Rigging elections is unprofessional and unethical. This is an enduring challenge that should apply to every intelligence officer, whatever their rank, in this country.
We should therefore purposefully identify and overcome whatever limitations our intelligence officers and agencies are facing. And as we try to improve their performances in all sorts of ways, we should seek to meet the statement of the 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes who said: "Reliable intelligence agents are to those that exercise the responsibility of governance like rays of light to the human soul."
It is in this light that we call for increased professionalism in our intelligence service. This is a very important institution and profession that should not be left to the whims of expediencies of the man in State House. Let's learn a lesson from how Chiluba abused the intelligence to steal millions and millions of dollars from our people.
Let us not forget how our intelligence officers and agencies have been abused to falsify the will of the people during elections. This must end.
We must not witness this on Tuesday. We appeal to all those who have been assigned to rig Tuesday's elections not to do so, to disobey the illegal and criminal orders or assignments. It is not good for our intelligence officers and agencies.
It is also not good for our country and for all our people whatever their political affiliations. Rigging of elections must be stopped at all costs.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, VOTERIGGING
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Police summon MMD candidate over vote buying
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Sun 18 Sep. 2011, 13:53 CAT
Mufulira police last week summoned MMD Mufulira Constituency candidate Evans Chibanda over allegations that he got over 300 voters cards in Kawama East on Monday afternoon.
Chibanda's summoning followed a complaint by the PF candidate John Kufuna.
Police sources in Mufulira disclosed that Chibanda was summoned to report to the central police over allegations of vote buying.
"There are serious campaigns here and the situation is becoming tense everyday. In the midst of intensified campaigns, we are receiving all sorts of electoral malpractice reports; the latest being the one involving Evans Chibanda. The record at the police is that he was buying voters cards in Kawama on Monday and he has been summoned to appear before the police for questioning," the source said.
However, Chibanda refuted the allegations saying he was merely verifying in the voters register whether the people he was giving MMD party regalia were voters or not.
He said he never collected any voter's cards from the people of Kawama.
Chibanda said as a candidate, he had the right to check and verify on whether the people he was giving MMD party regalia during campaigns were voters.
"These materials we are giving people are very expensive and as candidates, we bought the voters register. So we were merely checking on whether the people we were giving the materials are genuine voters.
I never got any single card because I also need votes. Now if I buy voter's cards where can I take them? These allegations are malicious and untrue," Chibanda said.
Kufuna in an interview said he was tipped by one of the residents of Kawama that Chibanda and his campaign committee team were collecting voter's cards from the people in the area.
"We decided to report the matter to the police and we went into Kawama with two police officers and they heard from the people who witnessed the malpractices of Evans Chibanda. They collected about three hundred voter's cards and witnesses are there to testify and they gave evidence before the police," Kufuna said.
He said people must be wary of the desperate attempts by the MMD to manipulate this year's elections.
Meanwhile, Mufulira electoral officer Charles Mwandila advised political parties to report any allegations of electoral malpractice to his office to allow the electoral conflict resolution committee to address the issues adequately.
Labels: EVANS CHIBANDA, MMD, VOTER REGISTRATION, VOTERIGGING
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People won't accept fraudulent polls - Chali
By Roy Habaalu
Sat 17 Sep. 2011, 13:55 CAT
MMD will not govern this country if they use tricks to win the elections, warns a PF official.
In an interview, Benson Chali, who is Patriotic Front Central Province chairman said people would not be fooled into accepting a fraudulent election.
He said people would not tolerate a situation where voting continued after the official close of polls.
"We are not going to accept what happened in 2001 where people were voting in the MMD strongholds while results were being announced. If you let MMD strongholds continue voting, that will bring problems for the MMD themselves. They are not going to govern this country if they are going to use tricks," Chali warned.
He said the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) should heed Dr Kenneth Kaunda's advice and conduct itself in an honest manner.
Dr Kaunda on Thursday appealed to ECZ to let the will and the interests of the people prevail without hindrance so that Zambia could maintain its historic reputation as an oasis of peace and tranquility.
Chali urged ECZ to listen to people's concerns over the corruption of Universal Print Group (UPG), the South African company engaged to print ballot papers for next week's general elections.
And Chali said MMD should not cause electoral chaos because there was only one Zambia.
"They need to be warned in advance; a friendly warning, a Christian warning. We have got five days to go and this is the only Zambia we have and we don't want anybody to behave more Zambian than others. If it (rigging) is going to be in Central Province, that polling station won't survive, we won't accept it. We won't even accept the results that are going to come from that polling station because as far as we are concerned, voting starts at 06:00 hours and closes at 18:00 hours," he said.
Meanwhile, Chali said two PF cadres died after a GRZ registered vehicle hit into a PF candidate's vehicle in Keembe Constituency.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, MMD, VOTERIGGING
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ECZ seeks ZAF's help to transport ballot papers
By Moses Kuwema
Thu 15 Sep. 2011, 13:55 CAT
ECZ chairperson Justice Ireen Mambilima says the institution has solicited the help of four Zambia Air Force helicopters to be used in airlifting polling materials to far-flung areas.
In an interview, Justice Mambilima said the Electoral Commission of Zambia had to learn from what happened in the past, especially in areas such as Western Province and Luano valley in Central Province.
"Also some areas like Nyimba and maybe somewhere in Chama so what we have done is that we have delivered most of the non-security items and we have solicited the help of ZAF, they have availed us four helicopters which we shall use to airlift the staff and some of the polling materials required for the polling stations.
"Let me say that the problem we had in the past in places like Shang'ombo and Sinjembela is that you would send your materials there, the truck sending the material gets stuck, you are not aware that the truck is stuck. You send another, one it also gets stuck so this time around we have given our officers in those far-flung areas satelite phones so that they are able to communicate with us in case there is any problem so that we can direct the choppers where to go. So that much we have done for this election," said Justice Mambilima.
On the issue of voting two days after the official polling day in some areas, Justice Mambilima said all poll staff have been asked to be in the polling station a day before the voting day.
"We are going to pay full subsistence allowance for out of station so we are insisting that all poll staff must sleep at their respective respective stations and be able to open the station on time on September 20 so we don't anticipate that we shall have such delays. If there will be any problem we anticipate that we shall be informed because of the communication which we have unveiled to our officers in the field," said Justice Mambilima.
Justice Mambilima said the ECZ's target was to deliver all the election materials in far-flung areas such as Northern Province, Western, North-Western and Luapula Provinces, not less than 48 hours before the election date.
She said all non-security materials were already in the districts and only the ballot papers were remaining.
Justice Mambilima said ECZ staff and officers had gained a lot of experience in the conduct of elections, adding that most of them were geared for this year's polls and were working under minimum supervision.
"The challenges have been different, if you recall in 2006 we were recovering from 2001 which many people thought was not a very good election and we think that in 2006 we did our best and we had the by-election in 2008 and I can say that the officers and staff of the ECZ have gained a lot of experience. They all know what they are supposed to do, so as for me the way I'm feeling, while...we shall take the bull by the horns, this is something we are supposed to do and we are going to do it," said Justice Mambilima.
And Justice Mambilima said the entire consignment of ballot papers including those which were reprinted was in the country, and what had remained were polling station posters and pallets for Central and North-Western provinces but that they too were expected in the country yesterday Wednesday.
"We have been told that the airline when they were packing, the cargo was too much and they left eight pallets, so we have been in touch with the people concerned in Durban so they have chartered a smaller plane which would bring the pallets tomorrow Wednesday seven are for Central Province and one for North-Western, they had to break up one of the pallets because of the height so they will be eight altogether including our posters."
Justice Mambilima appealed to Zambians to turn up in large numbers and cast their votes, and observe peace by respecting the outcome of the election.
Meanwhile, earlier at the airport PF Kanyama aspiring candidate Colonel Gerry Chanda queried the ECZ deputy IT director Brown Kasalu on who would keep the keys to the warehouse where the ballot papers would be kept, to which the latter responded that it was the ECZ.
However, Col Chanda proposed that political parties should have their representatives at the warehouse, to which Kasalu said the police officers would guard the warehouse.
"But the police are part of the system" said Col Chanda as Kasalu responded: "We must learn to trust our institutions," as Col Chanda shook his head in disagreement.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, ECZ, IRENE MAMBILIMA, VOTERIGGING
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Rigging elections
By The Post
Thu 15 Sep. 2011, 13:59 CAT
It doesn't make sense to call for peace before, during and after the elections while at the same time doing things that may lead to or breed conflict in the nation.
It doesn't make sense to ask the Zambian people to accept election results and remain peaceful while at the same time those asking for such peace, for such calm are engaging in practices that make it difficult, if not impossible, for citizens with a sense of justice, sensitivity and fairness to accept such results and do nothing about it.
We say this because fair-minded people, citizens with a sense of justice are incapable of not doing something about injustice, about unfairness, about fraud.
In this case or under such circumstances, what is being asked of our people is not peace but docility or something else. Peace is not a product of docility or of accepting wrong things without questioning. Peace is the tranquility of order that arises from honest and sincere dealings.
Electoral malpractices or fraud can never be a recipe for peace. The Zambian people have stomached quite a lot up to this time in terms of electoral malpractices, unfair political playing field.
They have witnessed an unprecedented abuse of state institutions in the run-up to next Tuesday's elections by those in power in an attempt to give themselves an unfair and unjustified electoral advantage.
They have peacefully complained about these abuses. But nothing has been done to address their concerns. However, there is a limit to everything. And it is unwise for anyone who has in the past gotten away with wrongdoing, with injustice, with unfairness to continue to stretch their luck too far into the realm of practices that may be seen as rigging elections.
There are many things that need to change as we head towards Tuesday and on Tuesday itself. For instance, the practice of delaying voting in what may appear to be targeted areas for electoral malpractices has to stop.
And also the announcing of results in areas where the ruling party is weak first and then overload its votes in other areas may this time be difficult for most of our people to accept. We say this because they have seen how this was used by the ruling party to win the 2001 elections.
In 2001, voting in parts of Northern Province was extended beyond the stipulated time by two days. While results were being announced in Lusaka, people were still voting in parts of Northern Province. And it was here where the ruling party got its victory. A similar pattern followed in 2006 and 2008.
Refusing to address the fears that our people have about rigging will be a dangerous decision which could land this country in a lot of problems. In the past when we have had disputes about elections, the opposition leaders have managed to convince their supporters to accept the outcome.
In 2001, Anderson Mazoka did his best to stop his supporters from exploding. In 2006 and 2008, Michael Sata had to summon all his persuasive skills to stop his supporters from taking to the streets over the election results they could not accept as a result of some of the weaknesses we have pointed out that were not addressed by those running the elections.
In both the 2006 and 2008 elections, one of the methods that Sata used to convince his supporters was to encourage them to register as voters. He asked them to be patient and wait for the next time round. The electoral register is testimony to the fact that many more people have registered as voters. It is dangerous to take such people for granted. This is why those who are thinking about tampering with the elections this year should be very careful.
It could land all of us in a lot of problems. The Electoral Commission of Zambia continues to have a duty to ensure that this is not allowed. Over and about that, the Electoral Commission of Zambia should also ensure that no impression is created that vote tampering in any shape or form has been allowed.
Electoral malpractices of injustices will not lead to peace. They will be rejected.
Intelligence demands the rejection of wrongdoing, of injustice, of fraud. Every time you let someone cheat you, deceive you, rob you, manipulate you, con you and you don't do anything about it, you are not acting with intelligence and should not be on this earth - you won't be on this earth very long either.
We are not in any way saying the losers should reject the results and resort to protests, but when the facilitators of the elections fail to manage the process in a fair and just manner and allow fraud to be perpetrated, then the losers have the right to protect their votes and demand justice.
This is within their rights. Those who engage in electoral fraud should not expect the people to accept it all the time and be the victims of unending electoral injustice. Then when they explode, they want them to explode politely or calmly! There is no such a thing. Why, they may be dealing with the wrong people at the wrong time and in the wrong way.
For these reasons, it is clear to see that peace is not docility, is not accepting wrongdoing without question. Peace is the fruit of honesty and truth. Rigging elections and expecting other citizens to sit ndwii and accept the results as if nothing has happened is dangerous and will not lead to peace. Injustice has to be fought.
It is a strict duty of justice and truth not to allow those who engage in electoral malpractices to get away with it.
All modern democracies hold elections, but not all elections are democratic. Dictators and tyrants also stage elections to give their rule the aura of legitimacy. Such elections may offer several candidates for each office, but ensure through rigging that only the ruling party candidate is chosen. Such elections are not democratic. We should not go or accept to go the tyrannical way that encourages a culture of passivity and apathy, a system which seeks to mould an obedient and docile citizenry.
The ability to conduct free, fair, transparent and honest elections is at the core of what it means to call a society democratic. And this is what the Zambian people want to see next Tuesday. It is this that will guarantee our country continued peace and stability.
Let us all be vigilant and stop every possible attempt to manipulate, rig our elections. Expose and question every act, every decision that seems to be aimed at rigging elections.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, KENNETH KAUNDA, VOTERIGGING
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ECZ can help prevent post-election violence
By The Post
Wed 14 Sep. 2011, 14:00 CAT
THE responsibility to maintain peace and tranquility in the country is a shared one. We all have a duty to conduct ourselves in a way that does not threaten the peace of the nation. We have been very fortunate as a country that most of the 47 years of our independence have been free of internal strife.
Those that are old enough will remember that we lived through an extended period of external threat when Zambia supported liberation movements throughout the southern African region.
But even through that period, we managed to remain peaceful as a nation. Our politics were not always the best. But it cannot be denied that at that time, Zambia was led by a true patriot, our good friend comrade Kenneth Kaunda.
Whatever his failings may have been, it can and must be said of him that he loved this country. Whenever there was serious contention, comrade KK did everything to accommodate the wishes of the majority; he always respected the wishes of the people.
Even when this country was constitutionally a one-party state, comrade KK was very sensitive to public opinion and to what the people wanted.
He always said: "Who am I not to respect the wishes of the people?" Our comrade had serious reservations about returning to multiparty politics in 1990, but that was what the people wanted, and he respected their wishes without much ado, without sacrificing a single soul.
He seemed very clear in his mind that it was not possible to govern against the wishes of the people. This quality is clearly lacking in Rupiah Banda. He does not seem to have learnt much from the spirit and character of comrade KK, with whom he worked for many years.
As we head towards the elections, it is important that contentious issues are dealt with in a very level-headed manner. It does not help the peace and stability of our country for Rupiah to dismiss well-founded concerns raised by interested parties in this year's elections.
Rupiah has continued to defend Universal Print Group even when it has been proved that there is criminality in the way that this company operates. This newspaper has now produced sufficient documents to demonstrate that at the time the Electoral Commission of Zambia were awarding the contract for printing of ballot papers for next week's elections, there was proof that Universal Print Group had been involved in serious acts of corruption, bribery and money laundering at the Electoral Commission.
But for inexplicable reasons, this was ignored. And when this issue was raised with the Electoral Commission of Zambia, they seemed determined to ignore it. The question is why? The Anti Corruption Commission, being the state agency responsible for investigating corruption, decided to lie about what they knew regarding the criminal acts of Universal Print Group.
This has done nothing to increase the confidence of our people in the electoral process. It has created an unhealthy environment of mistrust, whose consequences should not be underestimated.
It is for this reason that we continue to call upon the Electoral Commission of Zambia to redeem itself by ensuring that confidence in the elections is maintained. This can only be done by ensuring that there is complete transparency in the process and all legitimate concerns of the participants are addressed. By failing to deal with the Universal Print Group problem in an inclusive, conclusive way, the Electoral Commission of Zambia has put itself in an awkward position.
It now requires the highest levels of humility and magnanimity on the part of the Electoral Commission of Zambia to ensure that our people are convinced that election results that will be announced next week reflect their will. This can only happen if the Electoral Commission of Zambia adopts a genuinely inclusive approach.
This will require that they conduct themselves in a way that does not give the impression that they are stooges of the government, of Rupiah and the MMD.
There are a number of concerns that have repeatedly been raised in the way that the Electoral Commission of Zambia conducts itself. In successive elections, they have allowed voting to go on in some areas beyond the time designated for holding such elections.
This is a matter that can be avoided by ensuring that everything is done to run the election in a transparent way. Where there are legitimate problems, those should be discussed with all the participants so that solutions that are deployed are agreed. Failing to do so feeds into the notion that this voting that goes on beyond the time that is designated is calculated to facilitate electoral fraud.
A related problem is the way in which the Electoral Commission of Zambia has previously dealt with the release of results. It seems to be that results for the areas where the opposition are strong are released first for no clear reason.
And after these results have been released, then somehow the MMD manages to win as results are released from some obscure polling stations. The unfortunate impression that this gives is that the results in the strongholds of the opposition are released first to allow the MMD to fraudulently tamper with the election in order to give themselves an undeserved win.
They are given the opportunity to know how much they are trailing and then an appropriate number of votes is illegitimately introduced in the system to give them the margin they need to win.
This is a problem that can be avoided by ensuring that results are released properly and not in a contrived way. This way of releasing results may have worked in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2008, but it may not do this time.
There is even a more difficult problem this year because the opposition has now released information suggesting that Rupiah and his friends are determined to tamper with the election in specified areas - Mwansabombwe in Luapula Province, Southern Province and Eastern Province, among other areas. These perceptions and developments are a serious risk to the peace and stability of our country.
It is therefore incumbent upon the Electoral Commission of Zambia to ensure that everything is done to protect the votes of our people and that more is done to reassure our people that the criminality of Universal Print Group will not be allowed to tamper with the election results.
This is a very difficult and complex situation in which the Electoral Commission of Zambia has placed itself. However, it is still very important that everything is done to protect and preserve our peace. This will not happen if the Electoral Commission of Zambia continues to ignore stakeholders. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that we are special and those countries that have degenerated into chaos are not.
If we fail to deal with the problems that are staring at us, we are inviting bigger ones. Let us not create a situation or environment which even we ourselves will soon be afraid of. The Universal Print Group problem, if not properly handled, could plunge this country into veritable chaos for which all the facilitators of this process will be answerable. So many mistakes have already been made in the way this matter has been handled that valuable space that could have enabled the Electoral Commission of Zambia to handle this matter better has been lost.
That said, it may still be possible to avoid the doomsday scenario by ensuring that the whole election process is fully transparent, and all the stakeholders, including the MMD, are treated as such - just stakeholders. What has been happening so far is that the MMD seems to have the ears of the Electoral Commission of Zambia to the exclusion of all other political players.
That situation in combination with the dodgy character of the printer of ballot papers, Universal Print Group, is an explosive mix that should not be underestimated. It does not cost much to talk to other people and bring them on board. If we have post-election violence in this country, the Electoral Commission of Zambia will have to take full responsibility because there are things they can do to prevent the result that will be announced next week from being rejected.
One of those small things, as we indicated earlier, is simply to announce the results properly and not in a way that gives the impression that funny calculations are being done in some backroom somewhere.
Justice Irene Mambilima, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, has a big job to do. We hope she will do it transparently.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, ECZ, VOTERIGGING
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Address UPG issue before polls, pastor urges ECZ
By Mwala Kalaluka in Mongu
Wed 14 Sep. 2011, 14:00 CAT
A MONGU clergyman says it will not be wise for the country to proceed into this year's elections when there are still contentious issues involving United Print Group's alleged corrupt activities.
Mongu Pentecostal Assemblies of God senior pastor Raphael Silwamba said in an interview yesterday that the Electoral Commission of Zambia ECZ should address the corruption allegations involving South Africa's UPG before the polls for the elections to be free and fair.
Pastor Silwamba said people would love to proceed into the elections with a clear conscience that the polls would be free and fair.
"We have heard voices raise up concern over this company engaged in printing of ballot papers and corruption being levelled against it," pastor Silwamba said.
" In real sense, it will be prudent for the ECZ to sit and think because if these things are still on and we are going for elections, it will be difficult maybe for anyone to accept the results."
He said the ECZ should not have rushed into allowing UPG to print ballot papers while ignoring the other voices of concern.
"We would have gone first to iron out any differences, any concerns, which people are raising so that as we go for elections, everybody knows everything is clear," pastor Silwamba said.
"We should value our peace and this is really what we need because if concerns are not taken care of and we ignore these voices, it's not good for us as a nation."
He called on the ECZ to chart the way forward on the issues so that all the concerns are taken care of.
"We don't want to see a situation where people refrain from voting because they say maybe it's predetermined or things like that," said pastor Silwamba.
"We don't want to see a situation where people say we know already what has happened. We want to go in the election with a clear conscience, clear understanding that we are all Zambians, we are all free to vote freely and fairly and everything is on the proper platform."
Recently, the Anti Corruption Commission ACC disputed revelations that it was investigating UPG, a South African company awarded a contract by the ECZ to print ballot papers for next week's elections, over payments of kickbacks to ECZ officials relating to their facilitation of the award of the above tender to UPG.
However, documents obtained by The Post indicate that ACC lied when it denied revelations that it was investigating UPG over paying ECZ employees bribes.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, VOTERIGGING
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What connects Rupiah, Kayukwa, Neo and UPG?
By The Post
Tue 13 Sep. 2011, 14:00 CAT
IT is very difficult to sustain things using lies. It is said that lies have very short legs. In fact, it is more accurate to say that lies have no legs at all. This is what explains why liars have to keep telling lies. This is why one lie always leads to another.
When we reported that the Anti Corruption Commission knew something important about Universal Print Group that they were not telling the public, all sorts of things were said. Given Lubinda, who raised the initial alarm, was lambasted and his political party, the Patriotic Front, was accused of bringing up unimportant issues simply because they were not ready for the election.
The fact that the allegations of corruption, bribery and money laundering that Lubinda was raising were very important did not seem to deter the Electoral Commission of Zambia and even the Anti Corruption Commission from dismissing his concerns about dealing with a company that has a known involvement in acts of corruption, bribery and money laundering.
What is more serious is the fact that the Anti Corruption Commission's Godfrey Kayukwa went further and told blatant and manifest lies. In the face of a clear challenge that Universal Print Group, the company the Electoral Commission of Zambia had contracted to print ballot papers for next week's elections, was a corrupt company that should not have been engaged, Kayukwa issued a press release on August 11, 2011 in which he said there was no investigation concerning the Electoral Commission of Zambia or any of its suppliers.
But as can be seen from the documents that we published yesterday, this same Anti Corruption Commission had, only some 16 weeks before, recorded a warn and caution statement from a former director of Information Technology at the Electoral Commission of Zambia, Mfula Mpundu, in which they informed him that the Commission was conducting investigations into an allegation that he was bribed by the Universal Print Group to the tune of US $90,000 in relation to Electoral Commission of Zambia contract work.
The obvious question that arises is: why did Kayukwa decide to tell such a lie? Who was he protecting? And for what? We say this because it does not make sense for the head of the Anti Corruption Commission to tell such a lie.
Was Kayukwa acting alone or is he under instruction from his usual puppeteers? We do not expect Kayukwa to tell such a lie without having cleared himself with his political masters. We were, therefore, not surprised that it did not take long for Rupiah Banda to dive into the fray in defence of Universal Print Group. On at least two separate occasions, Rupiah was heard vehemently defending Universal Print Group, claiming that they are credible.
Is it possible that Rupiah did not know that Universal Print Group had been paying bribes to Electoral Commission of Zambia officials and had also engaged in money laundering? There is no doubt that Rupiah knew that Universal Print Group are a bunch of corrupt and scheming criminal types that should not be trusted by anyone. Could that be the reason why he was defending them? We say this knowing very well that Rupiah has no shame in defending criminality. This is one of the outstanding features of his presidency.
This is the man who does not feel any shame in publicly defending criminality. It is clear that the criminal inclinations of Universal Print Group are a quality that has endeared them to Rupiah. This is why the whole government machinery and their constellation of vuvuzelas jumped at the opportunity to defend Universal Print Group.
What is it that Universal Print Group is able to do for Rupiah that has made it necessary for him to personally defend them? Why is it so important for the entire Anti Corruption Commission to lie about an investigation against Universal Print Group?
Why was the Electoral Commission of Zambia so defensive and abusive in their response to Lubinda when he raised a question of Universal Print Group's corruption? Further still, why was the Electoral Commission Zambia determined to push ahead with Universal Print Group even if it was demonstrated to them that the company was corrupt and, therefore, not entitled to carry out any public contracts in terms of our law? These are legitimate questions that deserve an honest answer.
We have no doubt that Universal Print Group and the MMD have a relationship that could include vote tampering through the supply of duplicate ballot papers bearing the same serial numbers as those which have been officially supplied for the elections to give the MMD an opportunity to interfere with the will of the people should the election be seen to be going against them.
We have not forgotten that in 2008, some 600,000 ballot papers mysteriously arrived at Lusaka International Airport which Electoral Commission of Zambia claimed not to have ordered. Then who did and who paid for them? It is very clear that the MMD has realised that this election is an impossibility for them. They know that the opposition, particularly the Patriotic Front, have been making serious progress and inroads into what were their previous strongholds, making the possibility of MMD winning this election very difficult.
This is what explains the attempts at conditioning minds by the production of so many opinion polls, some of which are so transparent in their attempt to mislead our people. These opinion polls are necessary because the MMD would like to justify their attempts at rigging.
Last week, discredited academician Neo Simutanyi sent this newspaper his opinion poll in which he made a number of astounding claims which were contradicted by his own statistics and demographic logic. It is clear that Simutanyi was trying to do the MMD a favour by telling them that they are winning.
And it would appear that he needed statistics to back him up. One of the things that Simutanyi said was that MMD is going to win because it has consolidated itself in its strongholds. What he omitted to tell our people was the base from which he began in order to make the claim that MMD had consolidated itself in its strongholds.
Even a first-year statistics student could have done a better job than Simutanyi. In the Eastern Province, Simutanyi said that his poll predicted that Rupiah was going to get 51 per cent of the vote. What he did not tell the public is the fact that in 2008, Rupiah got 75 per cent of the vote in the Eastern Province. By his own numbers, Simutanyi was saying that Rupiah had lost 24 percentage points between 2008 and now.
How can that be consolidation? Simutanyi lied and is attempting to mislead the public. In the Western Province, Simutanyi stated that his poll showed that MMD would get 41 per cent. In 2008, Rupiah garnered 72 per cent of the vote in Western Province. This means that Rupiah was losing 31 percentage points in Western Province. Again, Simutanyi calls this consolidation.
What nonsense is this? When you compare Simutanyi's so-called poll with the results of 2008, MMD also loses eight percentage points in North Western Province and seven percentage points on the Copperbelt.
By Simutanyi's own poll, MMD does not gain in any of its strongholds. Why is Simutanyi telling lies? Simutanyi then goes into what we might call demographic nonsense because he claims that the Patriotic Front loses percentage points in all its strongholds but gains in all the provinces where it was previously very weak. Simutanyi wants us to believe that the Patriotic Front loses popularity in Lusaka, Copperbelt, Northern and Luapula, but gains huge points in North Western, Southern, Eastern and Central provinces. What is the point of all this nonsense? Why are we discussing it?
It is clear that these so-called polls are designed to condition the minds of our people to accept electoral fraud. The same question can be raised about Kayukwa's lies about Universal Print Group. Why is he lying? It is not far-fetched to say that his bosses have a vested interest in Universal Print Group. They know that if the corruption of Universal Print Group were exposed, then it might become very difficult for them to carry out their schemes.
The same question can be asked about why Rupiah defended Universal Print Group. He needs them. But let Rupiah and those that are cheating him know that they can cheat some of our people sometimes but they cannot cheat all our people all the time.
It is said that those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat the mistakes of history. Rupiah should learn from Laurent Gbagbo.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, ACC, CORRUPTION, DR NEO SIMUTANYI, GIVEN LUBINDA, GODFREY KAYUKWA, RUPIAH BANDA, VOTERIGGING
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COMMENT - How are election results compiled by the MDC more reliable than results collected by the ECZ? The MDC is very fond of using the 'the elections were stolen' charge as a political tool. Why would data from the opposition party be more reliable?
Masiyiwa’s bid to thwart vote rigging
05/09/2011 00:00:00
by Gilbert Nyambabvu
ECONET Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa actively worked with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party to “develop a sophisticated plan” to prevent President Robert Mugabe from "rigging" the 2008 general elections, it has emerged.
The revelations, contained in secret US embassy dispatches leaked by whistleblower website WikiLeaks, may help explain the animosity between Zanu PF and the South Africa-based businessman.
Masiyiwa allegedly detailed his plan to US embassy officials in Pretoria during meetings held on March 19, 2008, according to a report by the then US Ambassador to South Africa, Eric Bost.
Said Bost: “Masiyiwa has created a parallel vote count center, based in Johannesburg, that will report the results publicly as soon as they are available, independent of and in advance of, any Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announcements.
“The plan works like this: Once the results are announced at each polling place, the MDC agents will text message or call in the results to a Zimbabwe cell phone number (Masiyiwa and the MDC are ensuring that all their agents have access to cell phones or even satellite phones as necessary, in the event that the local network is interrupted).
"The call will be secretly rerouted to a computer centre in Johannesburg, where Masiyiwa has compiled a team of technical experts to enter the results into a database.
“MDC observers will also count the number of people who enter each local polling station and will compare this number with the local precinct vote count, highlighting discrepancies. The center will then post the results on an Internet site as they come in, essentially pre-empting the Zimbabwe Election Commission results and any ill-intention of Mugabe to falsely claim victory.
"Masiyiwa's team will send the Internet link to diplomats and journalists once the results are tabulated.”
Bost said he was confident Masiyiwa’s plan, which is illegal under Zimbabwean law, could work.
“(The plan) plays to Masiyiwa's strength as an engineer and problem solver. His technical expertise and ownership of Zimbabwe's Econet cellular phone company, with coverage throughout the country, places him in a unique position to pull this off,” he said.
In addition, Masiyiwa is also said to have put together a package of financial rewards for “low-level” election officials who reported attempts to rig the election by Zanu PF.
“In addition to the anti-rigging effort, Masiyiwa is funding campaign materials for the MDC, which are being printed in South Africa and smuggled into Zimbabwe,” Boost wrote.
The Econet Wireless chief, blasted in another cable by MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett for wielding “too much” influence on MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, also played a key role in moves to form a coalition government following the violent and disputed 2008 elections.
He allegedly claimed in meetings with US officials to have drafted a power-sharing deal under which Mugabe would serve as a ceremonial President with Tsvangirai coming in as Prime Minister.
Mugabe reportedly accepted the deal “in principle” although Masiyiwa was concerned that “South African President Thabo Mbeki (could) attempt to impose his own agreement which would be more advantageous to Zanu PF”.
“Masiyiwa said that an intermediary had presented the draft agreement to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono who had in turn presented it to Mugabe. Gono told the intermediary that he had discussed it with Mugabe and Mugabe's wife, Grace.
“Both Mugabe and Grace reportedly were agreeable to the agreement with several amendments, including that Mugabe would be allowed to serve as President indefinitely and would not have to retire at a certain time,” Ambassador Boost wrote.
Labels: MDC, VOTERIGGING, WIKILEAKS
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Rupiah's hypocrisy
By Mwanamulume
Thu 01 Sep. 2011, 12:00 CAT
Editor,
I have followed with interest the calls by the Republican President Mr Rupiah Banda that we should ensure that this month's elections are peaceful. This call has been made on every forum that he has spoken.
I, however, have like many Zambians come to the conclusion that he does not mean what he says, and that his calls are merely a calculated ploy to blind and silence us so that we accept the outcome of the elections regardless of whether they are free and fair or not. I say this because the utterances the President is making are not being backed up by actions.
Peace is not promoted by mere empty promises! Infact, the actions of the President himself from the time he became President of this country on contentious national issues have not been in the interest of peace. Rupiah's way of doing things from the perspective of an independent observer has always been to twist the arms of citizens. His decisions have always been at variance with the expectations of ordinary Zambians.
Most recently, there have been grave revelations that the South African printer engaged to print ballot papers might have engaged himself in corrupt activities.
If Rupiah were a peaceful leader, he would have strived to ensure a win-win situation and restore the confidence of all the key stakeholders in our electoral system before proceeding with the polls. But his actions left many fair-minded people speechless. Is this the way to promote peace?
Examples of offensive and annoying decisions made by the President abound but in the interest of word economy we shall not preoccupy ourselves with that. Except to remind Rupiah that we the ordinary citizens are not short of memory and we have the capability to even deduce the meaning or intentions of certain actions.
We may not be heard by our leaders but we are certainly not stupid.
Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, VOTERIGGING
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Failure to print ballots shows backwardness - Chiputa
By Agness Changala
Fri 02 Sep. 2011, 13:10 CAT
SENTIMENTS by President Rupiah Banda and the Electoral Commission of Zambia that the country has no capacity to print its own ballot papers are a shame, says University of Zambia lecturer Dr Euston Chiputa.
In an interview, Dr Chiputa, who is also president of the University of Zambia Lecturers and Researchers Union (UNZALARU), said the failure by the country to print ballot papers for next month's elections was an indication of how backward Zambia was technologically.
He said it was equally shameful to offload billons of kwacha in another country to print ballot papers when Zambians could do that.
"It's an indication that we have not achieved anything in terms of technology that we can't even print our own ballot papers," Dr Chiputa said.
"We are so backward and not able to print ballot papers for ourselves, let them step down and allow other people to take over."
He said President Banda's government's position on the printing of ballot papers was a sign that they were not ready to lead the country.
Dr Chiputa said it was important for the ECZ and President Banda to listen to concerns Zambians were raising on Universal Print Group (UPG), the company that was contracted to print ballot papers.
He said an unquestionable electoral process enabled all to accept the verdict.
Dr Chiputa said ignoring the concerns being raised by Zambians on UPG was a recipe for anarchy in the nation.
He urged President Banda to listen to Zambians and do the right thing, saying failure to do so, could plunge the country into chaos.
Dr Chiputa said President Banda should not behave like Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who did not want to listen to his people.
He said leaders should learn to listen and do what people demand.
"Politicians should not think that when they are in power, they are too superior to listen to anyone; let them sit down and come up with a common stand on various contentious issues," Dr Chiputa said.
He said there must be a level playing field so that the presidential candidate who wins this month's elections will not do so fraudulently.
And Dr Chiputa said the government did not care about UNZA.
He said if the government cared about the institution, they would have given it the attention it deserves.
Dr Chiputa said the government had failed to honour its obligation of paying retirees their money.
He said UNZA in this year's budget was allocated K52 billion for suppliers, retirees and serving employees.
Dr Chiputa said out of the K52 billion allocated, only about K14 billion had been released.
He said the institution was not only experiencing inadequate funding but also late release of funds.
Dr Chiputa said the government had failed to pay retirees despite spending too much money on unplanned road projects, bicycles and chitenge materials for campaigns.
He said the union had pleaded with the government to make available the funds but nothing had happened to date.
Dr Chiputa said it was sad that UNZA was not looked at as a critical institution.
Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, UNZALARU, VOTERIGGING
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ACC's lies over UPG shock Lubinda
By Ernest Chanda
Fri 26 Aug. 2011, 10:20 CAT
GIVEN Lubinda yesterday said he is shocked that the ACC has continued to mislead the public that there is no investigation concerning any supplier of the ECZ.
Reacting to a statement by ACC chairperson justice Timothy Kabalata that the Commission was not investigating the ECZ or any of its suppliers because he and Post editor Fred M'membe had refused to avail the Commission with any information on the matter, Lubinda said it was not good to see that justice Kabalata had been misled by ACC director general Godfrey Kayukwa.
"I have provided information publicly and challenged Lt Col Kayukwa to deny that he doesn't know about it," Lubinda said.
"I have provided details of a bribery account number 0140034477502 held at Stanbic Zambia Limited which was used to pay bribes to some officers of the ECZ.
Why is Lt Col Kayukwa ignoring this fact? I have also publicly explained how the corruption, bribery and money laundering was operationalised by UPG, the company engaged by the ECZ to print ballot papers for next month's elections."
Lubinda said when he held a press briefing last Saturday, he explained that UPG appeared to request some targeted officers of the ECZ to set up dummy companies.
"These dummy companies which appear not to be connected to ECZ or any of its officers are then requested to give dubious invoices to companies created and controlled by UPG in tax havens.
This is the information I provided on Saturday," Lubinda said. "I further said that ‘in one of the cases that illustrate this, a senior officers of the ECZ, together with other colleagues, set up a microfinance company here in Zambia called Venturefin'.
This has been confirmed by ex-Venturefin employees. Venturefin later issued a dubious invoice for a colossal US $90,000 to a UPG-connected company called Aeron Limited of Mauritius for fictitious services. Aeron then paid Venturefin and this money was received in Stanbic Bank account number 0140034477502 and enjoyed by an official of the ECZ."
Lubinda said he did not end just by providing this information but further stated that Lt Col Kayukwa knew these facts because whistle-blowers had already given the ACC this information and confirmed with him.
"And some of these whistle-blowers have been interviewed by the ACC and repeated the same facts to the Commission," Lubinda said. "Why is Lt Col Kayukwa not responding to these direct and very specific challenges? That is why I am shocked to hear that they are not investigating UPG and are even trying to blame me.
I have made this information available to the public and Lt Col Kayukwa has not said I have lied because he cannot say that while sitting with the information that he has on this matter."
Labels: ACC, BRIBERY, ECZ, GIVEN LUBINDA, VOTERIGGING
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PF not happy with ECZ’s response on UPG
By Bright Mukwasa and Ernest Chanda
Tue 23 Aug. 2011, 17:30 CAT
WYNTER Kabimba has warned that the country could run into civil strife because of civil servants’ running of public institutions with impunity. And Kabimba says Zambians should pass a verdict on President Rupiah Banda’s origins using their vote since the courts were delaying the matter.
In an interview Kabimba, who is Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general said some stakeholders were currently not pleased with the running of the Electoral Commission of Zambia affairs and its response to the numerous allegations of the alleged corrupt dealings of the Universal Print Group (UPG), a South African Company engaged to print ballot papers for next month’s elections.
“If the information given to ECZ was information given to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa, for example or somewhere in the Western World, the UPG contract today would have been cancelled,” Kabimba said.
“But in Zambia, public officers run the affairs of these public institutions with great impunity and this is why it will take a long time in Africa to do away with civil strife because it is this level of impunity that cultivates civil strife ultimately.”
Kabimba said his party had given sufficient evidence and was waiting for ECZ to tell the public that the evidence was not credible.
“Some of the stakeholders are not pleased with the manner in which institutions that are mandated to ensure that public affairs are administered in public interest do not execute their responsibilities in the public interest,” he said.
And addressing a public rally at Lusaka’s Freedom Square on Sunday, Kabimba said the strong relationship between President Banda and his Malawian counterpart Professor Bingu Wamutharika resulted from their common origins in that country.
At the same rally, the PF leadership introduced parliamentary candidates for all Lusaka-based constituencies.
Kabimba said Lusaka Province chairman William Banda was favoured by President Banda because they were both Malawians.
“Imwe banthu bamu Lusaka na banthu bonse bamu Zambia (Lusaka residents and all Zambians) you must say ‘no’ to being governed by a Malawian. Imwe, court ikalibe kukamba ati ba Rupiah Banda nibaku Malawi, cifukwa ma court aya yacedwa, (Before the court rules that Mr Rupiah Banda is from Malawi, because these courts delay), pa 20th of September you are the court of the people of Zambia; the judgment will be passed by you,” Kabimba said.
And Kabimba said critics of his party were ashamed after it managed to field parliamentary candidates in all the 150 constituencies.
Labels: ECZ, PF, VOTERIGGING, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Nalubamba calls on Kayukwa to resign
By Moses Kuwema
Tue 23 Aug. 2011, 17:40 CAT
ACC director general Lt Col Godfrey Kayukwa is irresponsible and a danger to the country, says senior chief Bright Nalubamba. Commenting on the continued corruption revelations surrounding Universal Print Group (UPG), a South African company engaged to print ballot papers for this year's elections, chief Nalubamba of the Ila people of Namwala district said Lt Col Kayukwa had proved that he was not impartial in his work and should therefore leave the system.
“The director general at ACC is totally irresponsible and a danger to the country. If he is not going to be impartial in his work, then what he can do is get out of the system. If he is a man of dignity, let him resign instead of being forced out,” chief Nalubamba said.
“How can he be changing statements from one to another. He is confusing us and is totally irresponsible and a danger to the country, he must go.”
Chief Nalubamba said there was need for the ACC to carry out thorough investigations on UPG in order to restore the people’s confidence in the electoral system.
“What is impossible for the ACC? It’s now extremely urgent for them to do something before it is too late otherwise the loss of confidence by the people can amount to chaos eventually or ultimately. Why should they delay in investigating? What are they hiding? If Given Lubinda has raised those important details, then it means people's expectations are now high, we expect the ACC to do the investigations to prove Lubinda wrong or right,” chief Nalubamba said.
He said the ACC had no choice but to convince Zambians that there was nothing in Lubinda's allegations and if there was something then they should inform the Electoral Commission of Zambia to drop the printing contract with UPG.
“The ACC right now has no confidence of the Zambians. I think if they are working for Zambians they have no choice but just to do that otherwise we won't be convinced that that contract was done properly,” he said.
“There is even talk of money being paid through an account at Stanbic Bank Zambia. Do they mean there is no truth at all in the whole system? As Zambians we are not convinced that things are running well. We fear elections might be rigged and time is running out. What is the problem? Why is the ACC refusing to listen to the voice of the people?”
Labels: ACC, CHIEF NALUBAMBA, ECZ, GODFREY KAYUKWA, VOTERIGGING
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