UPND warns ECZ

By SILUMESI MALUMO
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) should stop registering inmates, if not they will fuel chaos in the country, UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma has warned.
Mr Kakoma said the ECZ cannot go ahead to register inmates without consulting all political parties.
He said in an interview yesterday, all political parties asked the ECZ to address concerns which had been raised before registering inmates which had not been done, therefore, it was important that the process was stopped immediately.
“The issue of campaigning in prisons has not been resolved by the ECZ. The prisons officials have barred political parties from campaigning in prisons and we urged it to address this matter but nothing has been done.
The ECZ is trying to frustrate us and we shall not condone such behaviour. It is important that they adhere to our call to halt the voter registration in prisons because it will bring confusion in the country.
“They cannot just be doing things without engaging political parties who are the main stakeholders in the elections,” he said.
Mr Kakoma said it was shocking the ECZ can be sidelining the main stakeholders in the elections.
He also said it was not clear whether the ECZ would allow the opposition political parties to have monitors in the prisons during the elections.
Mr Kakoma said all these issues were supposed to be addressed before going ahead to register inmates as voters.
“How are we going to monitor elections in the prisons if we do not have monitors? This is likely to happen like the way we have been barred to campaign.
So what will happen is that the results which will come from the prisons are not correct figures and this will bring election disputes,” Mr Kakoma said.