THE printing of ballot papers for the August 12 general elections has commenced in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Vice Chairperson, Emily Sikazwe, commissioned the printing process, with the signing of the mayoral, council chairpersons and councillors templates, for the local government candidates.
Briefing the media, Dr Sikazwe said the 15 political parties working with the ECZ in Lusaka, managed to approve the papers on Sunday night, which were sent to Dubai and verified by the team in readiness for printing.
“I worked with our staff team last night to look at what was approved by political parties from Zambia. This morning having gone through and determined that what was done was correct, we then proceeded to officially sign off the commencement of the printing of ballots,” she said.
Dr Sikazwe, who was flanked by ECZ Commissioner, retired Major-General Vincent Mukanda, expressed happiness with the process.
She added that the team from Lusaka where stakeholders had gathered, was working with ECZ staff in Dubai.
“Today, July 5th, 2021, we are pleased so far and I am happy that our staff in Lusaka is working very fast to avoid any delays,” she said.
She however expressed concern at the delay to process the visa of one of the stakeholders from the United Party for National Development (UPND), who is yet to travel to Dubai.
Dr Sikazwe however indicated that the ECZ engaged the consulate to have the process expedited so that the representative could be present before the commencement of the printing of presidential ballot papers. Brig-Gen Mukanda said it was important that stakeholders in Dubai engage the ECZ and seek clarity where they are not clear.
Earlier, Al Ghurair General Manager Lakshmanan Ganapathy explained that the company has started printing ballot papers for mayoral, council chairperson and councillors, and that the process is expected to be completed in the next three days. Mr Ganapathy indicated that the process to print ballot papers for the entire election period, including for presidential candidates, can only take about two weeks, however, delays in verifying the papers is what may affect the schedule.
He said that the company has so far received verified papers for Central, Eastern and Copperbelt provinces.
– ZANIS.
