NRC Issuance – Phase Two Extension Unlikely
Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo has indicated that it is highly unlikely that phase two of the Mobile Issuance of National Registration Cards (NRC) exercise will be extended, despite time being lost due to technical difficulties.
Phase two covers Muchinga, Central, Western, Southern and Lusaka provinces.
An extension to phase one was previously granted, covering Copperbelt, Luapula, Northern, Eastern and Northwestern provinces as a result of the slow start and challenges experienced, with some delays resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The reason phase one was extended by some days was simply because some of the machinery used in the exercise were delivered late and that delayed the commencement of the phase one but the situation here is deferent, we are highly unlikely to do any extensions” Hon Kampyongo has been quoted stating.
Previous moves by the government to prevent monitoring of the process sparked outcry from civil society. After the exercise commenced the Ministry of Home Affairs ordered organisations which have taken to monitoring to disband and allow officials tasked with monitoring voter registration to do their job.
Operation Young Vote (OYV) was among those to criticise the move stating it was “not only appalled and dismayed but also very concerned and displeased” by the move.
The exercise comes ahead of the planned voter registration drive scheduled to commence later this month. It is critical because all voters are expected to register to vote afresh and they will need NRC cards in order to do so. Anyone without an NRC at the end of phase two will not be able to vote in the 2021 elections.
At the presidential summit organised by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) last week opposition politicians once again raised concerns with the ECZ’s plans to register nine million voters in a 30-day period.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) president Chishimba Kambwili stated, “The current register was compiled in 2005, 2011 and 2016 and captured a total of six million voters. How then can they in 2020, when the population has grown, capture the same nine million people in 30 days? Colleagues, electoral process brings problems if elements of arrogance, not listening from stakeholders take root… Let us have elections that are going to stand a test of time, by doing the right thing. What we are asking for is enough time for the Zambians to register as voters. This is not debatable! How can you capture people that were captured in nine months, in one month? This issue must be resolved or else this country will be on fire.”
UPND leader Hichilema also expressed concern stating, “The number of days allocated for registration of voters; we disagree on that. The law says there should be continuous voter registration.”
He has challenged that the Electoral Process Act does not allow the removal of the existing six million registered voters.
Hichilema raised additional concerns regarding the impact of political violence and the distribution of cash and mealie meal through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), which he claimed was being used “as a department of a political party.”