By JAMES KUNDA and NAKUBIANA SHABONGO –
TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) has declared the 2015 presidential election free and fair.
TIZ vice-chapter president Joseph Kalungu said in a statement yesterday that there was remarkable improvement in the overall election management system, while a number of transparency mechanisms were adhered to.
Mr Kalungu said TIZ was pleased with the decision by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to paste election results outside polling stations as this enhanced transparency and allowed stakeholders to closely follow the outcome of the election.
“We generally appreciate the efforts made by ECZ to introduce a more transparent way of counting the votes at polling stations as well as the collation of results at various centres,” Mr Kalungu said.
“While long and tedious, it helped inspire confidence in the various stakeholders and made the result management by ECZ credible.”
Mr Kalungu said concerns and suspicions regarding the inordinate delays in announcing election results were unnecessary.
“Whilst we understand that it is the right of political parties and all stakeholders to question any action of ECZ they are not sure about, we observed that some political parties raised suspicions unnecessarily and baselessly,” Mr Kalungu said.
“Such unfounded suspicions may erode the credibility of the ECZ leading to chaos, and we commend the Commission for having handled queries and suspicions with great professionalism.”
Mr Kalungu said the conduct of voters was exemplary and peaceful while the political parties adhered to the electoral requirements not to campaign on polling day.
It was also commendable that the majority of polling stations opened on time and had the required election materials.
Mr Kalungu also praised ECZ’s move to consult widely as this highlighted the Commissions’ resolve to reach consensus on a number of key issues.
Meanwhile, Alliance for Better Zambia (ABZ) president Frank Bwalya has charged that cries by United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema that the election was stolen from him is anchored on attracting a sympathy vote in next year’s general election.
Fr Bwalya described the move as a political gimmick meant to portray Mr Hichilema as a victim of alleged electoral misappropriation.
“In fact, Mr Hichilema is on record having said that he was not going to concede defeat long before Zambians went to the polls.
Mr Hichilema has decided to cry foul in the futile hope that he can attract a sympathy vote in the tripartite elections next year,” he said.
In a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday Fr Bwalya said Mr Hichilema seemed to have done well because the ruling Patriotic Front had a voter apathy in its strongholds compared with the UPND strongholds that had a high turn up.
The PF went into the election bruised from internal wrangles that characterised the election of their presidential candidate and warned that the party would be intact in the 2016 tripartite election.
“Mr Hichilema was beaten clean in an election that has been described by Zambia and credible international observers as free and fair and devoid of rampant electoral violence,” he said.