UPND and NDC Youths To Go Ahead With Demonstration

Youth members of the UPND and NDC opposition parties have said they will go ahead with planned demonstrations in Lusaka on Sunday, despite being denied permission to protest by the police.

Speaking at a joint media briefing at the UPND secretariat in Lusaka on Wednesday morning, youth leaders from both parties said they would carry out their peaceful demonstrations at the Freedom Statue in Lusaka, as well as further rallies nationwide.

The youths are protesting against the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s decision to scrap the 2016 voter roll and proceed with online registration for the 2021 general election.

They are calling for the resignation of ECZ chair Essau Chulu, along with his deputy Emily Sikazwe and the chief electoral officer Patrick Nshindano. They say the ECZ acted unilaterally in favour of the PF without consulting other stakeholders in the electoral process.

UPND Deputy National Youth chairperson Gilbert Liswaniso said the demonstration would act as a reminder to authorities that the citizens of Zambia will not accept their democracy being undermined by the ECZ as happened in 2016.

“We have a duty as UPND and NDC to remind those in authority that we don’t want Esau Chulu to give us a president like what happened in 2016. If exercising our constitutional right to protest demands that Mr Kapeso should test his newly acquired armoured vehicles, then we are ready to have our bones broken,” he said.

Youth leaders initially registered their request to protest last week but were denied permission by the police, who said there was not enough manpower to properly oversee the demonstrations. Opposition figures have accused the police service of partisan hypocrisy after it facilitated much larger protests by PF CSOs calling for an inquiry into privatization earlier this month.