Statement by: HE Dr
Jakaya Kikwete, Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group to Zambia
The Commonwealth
Observer Group commends the people of the Republic of Zambia for the peaceful
and orderly manner in which they exercised their right to vote on 11 August
2016.
The Group has been
present in Zambia since 4 August. Our arrival was preceded by an advance team
which has been in the country since 22 July.
We have met with the
Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), political parties, civil society,
including women and youth groups, media representatives, the Police,
Commonwealth High Commissioners and other election observer missions.
On 9 August, our
teams were deployed throughout the ten provinces of Zambia to observe the
election environment and preparations. Ahead of Election Day, our teams met
electoral officials, political parties and the police at the district level to
gain a comprehensive picture of the electoral processes and environment.
Commonwealth teams also observed the final campaign events around the country.
The following is an
initial assessment of the critical aspects of the election process and the
electoral environment. Our final report, which we will complete before our
departure, will be issued at a later date.
Key findings
Pre-election environment
and issues
The campaign
In our briefings with
a number of stakeholders, we were informed that there had been a significant
increase in the frequency of politically-motivated violence in the
pre-electoral environment.
We note, for
instance, that the ECZ suspended campaigning in Lusaka and Namwala districts
from 9 to 18 July following two separate fatal incidents.
We were further
concerned about complaints that the Public Order Act was being applied in such
a manner that it prevented some parties from campaigning, earlier in the
process. In meetings with
representatives of the Police Service, the Group was advised that the Police
only cancelled public meetings in instances where they had received
intelligence of a security threat, or where they did not have sufficient
resources to provide security at the public event.
We were therefore
particularly pleased to note that the campaigns conducted on the eve of
elections, were lively and generally peaceful.
The Group will
analyse the impact of the application of the Public Order Act in the greater
detail in the final report.
The media environment
Most stakeholders
expressed the view that the media in Zambia is polarised, with outlets
demonstrating a clear bias for and against particular presidential candidates
and parties.
It is the impression
of the team that both public and private media in Zambia have, in some cases,
reported events inaccurately, especially those which have not been in favour of
their respective sympathising party. This type of reporting may have also been
enhanced because of the lack of a self-regulatory body.
However, the Group
notes that the public media should be held to a higher standard of
responsibility to provide balanced coverage and equal access to airtime for all
political parties. Therefore we encourage a more robust regulatory framework
for public media institutions.
The Group notes that
the Electoral Code of Conduct which is a schedule to the Electoral Processes
Act, 2016, requires the media to provide fair and balanced reporting during
elections, and to allocate public air time equally to all political parties and
candidates. The enforcement of these provisions need to be strengthened.
The revised electoral
framework
Zambia’s 2016 General
Elections was conducted under a revised constitutional framework. The constitutional review process that had been
underway for the past 12 years culminated in the passage of the Constitution of
Zambia Amendment Act No. 2 of 2016, which was enacted by Parliament early this
year.
Some of the major
changes introduced, include the 50% plus one threshold for the winner of the
presidential elections, as well as the minimum Grade 12 certificate requirement
for candidates seeking political office.
The revised
Constitution necessitated the revision of about 33 subsidiary pieces of
legislation. However, due to time constraints, only two election-related bills
were tabled before Parliament before its dissolution.
We note the positive
aspects of the election related bills. For instance, the integration of the
code of conduct into the Electoral Process Bill, 2016.
However, we heard
concerns that these bills were rushed through Parliament and did not benefit
from sufficient consultation. Furthermore, subsidiary legislation was not
subsequently passed, which limits the ability of the ECZ to conform fully with
the new constitution and with regional and international standards. We shall address this issue more
comprehensivelyin our final report.
ELECTION DAY
The voting process
On Election Day, our
observers reported that most voting stations opened on time with a few
exceptions. For instance, five polling stations in Nalolo District in the North
Western Province, remained closed at 12:30pm.
Like other Observers,
we were struck by the very long queues in some polling stations. In one polling
centre in Solwezi District (North Western Province) there were 11,500 voters on
the register, and the centre had 12 streams.
The prescribed layout
withinpolling stations was adhered to, and was conducive for orderly voting.
However, the compounds surrounding some of the schools, and even polling tents,
were too small to accommodate the large queues in an orderly manner.
At the opening of
polls, polling officials largely followed the opening procedures and voting
generally proceeded in an atmosphere of calm and orderliness, even if slow in
some instances.
The voter register
lacked an alphabetical index
locating and confirming the voter's name and registration number. This created
confusion amongst voters regarding the appropriate streams and contributed to
the slow pace of voting in some instances.
In some cases, we
witnessed assigned police personnel assisting the presiding officers in queue
management. Their presence was non-intrusive.
We noted the ECZ’s
attempt to simplify the complicated process of voting in five elections by
using colour coded boxes and corresponding ballot papers. We observed that the
polling assistants responsible for guiding voters to place their ballots in the
correct boxes played a critical role in facilitating this process.
We commend the contribution made to the process by party
agents, as well ascitizen observers and monitors, most of whom were young
people. Party agents we met observed the rules of the polling station, were
friendly and cooperated among themselves. They frequently assisted the polling
officials to find names in the register, and engaged constructively when a
problem arose.
In summary, we wish
to highlight the following positive trends that we observed on polling day:
·
An encouraging turn-out
·
A largely peaceful process.
·
A robust voter register.
·
Non-intrusive presence of the police
·
An inclusive process with a balance of
Zambian women and men playing their roles as voters and as polling officers.
However, we note, with concern, the very low participation of women as
candidates which we will address in our final report. We further note that
differently abled people as well as the elderly, mothers with young children,
and pregnant women were assisted to vote.
·
There was a visible presence of citizen
observers across the country, most of whom were young people.
·
Electoral processes were largely followed.
We however note the
following challenges during the voting process:
The Referendum
It appeared that
civic education on the Referendum, which commenced rather late, following the
passage of bills in Parliament on 29 May 2016, was inadequate.
Observers came across
a disturbing number of incidents where voters shunned the Referendum ballot,
refusing to collect it, either due to lack of understanding or owing to the
politicisation of this ballot. The inclusion of the Referendum vote, together
with the four ballots, meant it did not receive the due attention it deserved.
Our sense, yet to be
borne out by the results, is that the Referendum may have suffered from
inadequate civic education on its importance. We note that in our briefing
sessions, this development was foreshadowed by a number of stakeholders.
Queue management
Our advance observers
were informed in their briefings that where polling stations had more than 500
voters on their voter registers, they would be split into multiple streams to
handle the flow of voters. We note,
however, that this did not seem to have occurred in a number of polling
stations with overwhelming numbers of voters.
In some cases, queues
caused congestion in the affected polling stations, and voters had to wait for
long hours in vote. We note that in one
polling centre, the Red Cross had provided a rest facility for those who might
require it.
In a highly contested
election such as this, where the political landscape is quite polarised,
unwieldy queues could spark unruly behaviour. We will provide some
recommendations on this issue in our final report.
Late opening of a few
polling stations
We note the late
opening of a relatively few number of polling stations. According to the ECZ,
some of the lost time was compensated with the late closure of those polling
stations affected.
Voting for polling
officials and security personnel on duty
We witnessed cases
where the ‘certificates of authority’ required by security personal and polling
officials to vote in their duty locations had not been given to them,
particularly in the Copperbelt area.
We understand that in
some cases, these certificates arrived just before the close of polls. This
incident brings to the fore the need to strengthen special voting arrangements
for the next election.
We conclude that the
voting process appeared to be smooth and peaceful. The voter register appeared robust with
relatively few incidents where voters could not find their names. Our teams
note that where there were anomalies in the application of certain procedures,
they were not of such gravity as to negatively impact the credibility of the
process.
CLOSING, COUNTING AND
THE RESULTS PROCESS
At the close of polls
at 6:00pm, our Observers reported that there were still a significant number of
voters in the previously long queues.
Our Observers
reported that those voters in the queue at the close of polls were allowed to
vote, in line with the law.
In the main, closing
procedures were followed.The counting process was transparent, and spoilt
ballots were determined in a consultative manner among the polling officials
and party agents.
In some cases,
however, the application of the counting processes appeared inconsistent. This
seems to suggest that training of polling staff in those particular areas may
have been inadequate.
Overall conclusion
Our overall conclusion
is that the voting, closing and counting process at the polling stations on 11
August, were credible and transparent.
However, we are
mindful that the results process is ongoing. Our final assessment on the entire
process, will be contained in our final report.
It is the
Commonwealth’s hope and expectation that this spirit of orderliness, tolerance
and peace, which has characterised the voting process, will prevail as the
results phase continues.
We urge all political
parties and candidates to respect the will of the people of Zambia as it
emerges over the next few days, and to seek redress for any grievances through
peaceful dialogue, and through prescribed legal channels. This is the Zambian
Constitutional way. It is also the Commonwealth way.
We reiterate the
appeal we made to all Zambians, in the joint statement by African and
International Election Observation Missions on 10 August 2016, to refrain from
making any utterances and/or performing acts that could trigger tensions and
negatively affect the post-election environment.
As we underscored in
that statement, Zambia has committed itself to certain democratic values
contained in the national, regional, Commonwealth and International obligations
it has chosen to subscribe to. This country has a history of upholding these
values during elections. We urge all stakeholders to cherish this history.
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