“With all due respect Hon. Cornelius Mweetwa, it is your response, not ours, that is not logical! Proposing that registered political parties nominate their members to sit as Commissioners at ECZ is aimed at enhancing impartiality in the Commission’s operations!”
By Chishala Kateka | NHP president.
Lusaka, June 4 – The New Heritage Party is saddened by the careless, condensending and highly pedestrian manner the UPND has responded to our very important proposal for critical electoral reforms in Zambia, starting with the democratisation of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
Our proposal is a result of a well researched assessment of what is currently wrong with our electoral regime. Among the several weaknesses our party has observed in our electoral system is the current unfair manner of constituting the governing body of the ECZ, through presidential appointments by the sitting Head of State; the Republican President, who also happens to be a member of a political party and therefore has vested interest in the affairs of the ECZ, as do all other political parties in the country.
It is this in-built unfairness whereby, one of the participants in an election also gets to chose which people will be the referees in a process, that we are trying to cure.
That is why we are proposing that the political parties (including the UPND), who are the major stake holders in elections, be represented equitably on the ECZ governing body; as one of the many confidence building measures that are urgently needed to be undertaken before the next general elections in 2026.
Also Read: UPND is now fully constipated with power – Harry Kalaba.
Our proposal is also informed by the negative experiences we have had in this country, whereby every election, especially the general elections results are never accepted by the losing parties, even after the courts have ruled and validated the results, and the UPND in opposition is a very good case in point, as they consistently disputed every election they lost from the inception of their party over twenty years ago.
Honourable, Mr. Mweetwa the UPND party spokesperson and also Southern Province Minister in trying to evade the difficult task of facing up to the validity of the NHP fundamental and democracy enhancing proposal, disingenuously compares the ECZ to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and declares that they are the same! This, coming from a government Minister and a lawyer by profession is shocking, to say the least, if just for the lack of seriousness and ignorance of the structure of government which has been exhibited by the UPND’s chief ideologue.
To be clear, in Zambia the ACC is a law enforcement agency and part of the executive, is now directly in the office of the President and currently controlled by the president even though ordinarily it is supposed to operate independently. Its clients are mainly suspected criminals.
ECZ, on the other hand is not part of the executive branch of government, but a body instituted to ensure the central pillar of our multiparty democracy which is fulfilled through the conduct of elections in which all those that occupy elective leadership positions, from the ward up to the president, truly represent the will of the majority of voters. They must ensure that who ever occupies office has been correctly elected to office.
The ECZ is supposed to achieve this solem duty, by conducting elections which are not only free and fair, but are also seen to be free and fair by the major stake holders; the political parties. It is therefore, a serious misnomer to equate the nation building role of the ECZ to that of a branch of the policing arm of government.
Also Read: UPND and its baffling performance! – Chishala Kateka.
The clients of the ECZ are duly registered political parties as opposed to those of the ACC. There is just no equivalence here.
As New Heritage Party, we are trying to correct a wrong that is happening at the ECZ and which has been going on for far too long. It is now time to change the system for the better.
ECZ’s major stakeholders are the political parties, and this qualifies them to insist on their views and suggestions intended to improve the operations of their institution being taken seriously and on board by those in government
We are dealing with the very existence of this country. Nations have become failed states before through the holding of flawed elections.
What we are saying as New Heritage Party is that ECZ is compromised because of the manner in which it has been constituted and which is, to all intents and purposes, undemocratic.
Proposing that registered political parties be the ones to nominate their members to sit as Commissioners at ECZ, is aimed at enhancing impartiality in the Commission’s operations thus building confidence in all other players.
The UPND is just exposing it’s justified fear that they may lose general elections if they have a truly independent ECZ Commission composed of nominees of other political parties not beholden to the sitting Head of State who currently is a UPND member and leader, the President of the country.
Also Read: Arrogance coupled with crass ignorance.
Kenya and Nigeria are good examples that have learnt the hard way, and adopted this method of constituting their electoral governing bodies after the bloody violent aftermaths of flawed elections.
The next General Elections must be held under a new ECZ Commission constituted under the New Heritage Party’s proposed model.
We shall soon be calling upon all political parties, including the UPND, to discuss this very important aspect of our electoral process.
You can now follow Woodpecker’s Digest on Twitter and Facebook!
©2022 Woodpecker’s Digest Inc.
Putting news into perspective
