ZCID CONCERNED WITH SLOW PACE OF THE VOTER REGISTRATION

Lusaka ~ Fri, 13 Nov 2020

By Brightwell Chabusha

The Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue-ZCID has urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia to find the best way of expediting the pace at which the Voter Registration process is taking place.

ZCID Executive Director Doreen Kabwe says  her organization has observed with concern that if the Commission does not urgently take deliberate actions to improve the situation, the announced target to register 9 million voters will only be a mirage.

She says various stakeholders have in the recent past echoed their apprehension over the 30 days period for voter registration which was announced and appealed to the Commission to increase the period but to no avail.

Ms Kabwe has observed that it is a challenge to have  one registration officer per center to enter data, obtain finger prints for the biometrics, take pictures and finally process the voter’s cards.

“Despite people turning up in numbers to register, the long queues are disheartening and the public were made to believe that online Voter Pre Registration would quicken the process and minimise the queues amidst the Covid-19 environment,” she said.

Ms Kabwe has further advised ECZ to ensure that the registration process is expedited in an efficient and effective manner to leave no room for the growing voter apathy that has been affecting general elections in Zambia.