ECZ Heads Committee To Manage Elections During Covid-19

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has been directed to head up a Technical Coordination Committee in order to assess how general elections can be safely held in August despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

The committee will reportedly bring together a variety of stakeholders to discuss how best to manage the election in August and to keep voters safe and informed.

The committee was formed following a meeting between representatives from the ECZ and the Ministry of Health, including the Health Minister Jonas Chanda and ECZ’s Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano.

Dr Chanda has assured the ECZ of his ministry’s full support in the build up to the elections, while Mr Nshindano has welcomed the prospect of a roadmap to plot out the best route to polling day on 12 August.

Both the ECZ and Ministry of Health have been come under heavy fire in recent months, prompting concerns over their future management of the election.

The ECZ has been accused of disenfranchising millions of Zambians after its voter registration process (initially slated to run between November 9 and December 12) only managed to register some 6 million voters - approximately two thirds of the 9 million voters it promised to register. 

The Health Ministry, meanwhile, has been battling consecutive scandals regarding the procurement of faulty medical equipment from HoneyBee Pharmacies, as well as allowing potentially life-saving medicines to expire in facilities run by the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA).