Cabinet Approves Bill To Distribute Campaign Materials In Prisons

The cabinet has approved a bill allowing prisoners to vote in August’s general elections as well as making provisions for the distribution of campaign materials in the lead up to polling day. The bill will now be published and introduced to parliament as ‘The Electoral Process Amendment Bill’.  

Under the terms of the bill, election observers, polling agents and monitors will be granted access to prisons on August 12th to allow inmates to cast their votes. Local community members will also be able to use the prison polling stations. 

The decision follows a constitutional court ruling in 2017 which allowed prisoners the right to vote in elections. 

The new bill also provides for campaign materials to be distributed among inmates in the lead up to the election. In the past, opposition parties have complained that allowing prisoners to vote unfairly disadvantages them, as the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has not laid out plans for facilitating campaigning behind bars.

In October 2020, UPND Provincial Chairman Obvious Mwaliteta walked out of a meeting with ECZ officials over the matter of prison voting. He said that his party was not opposed to the concept of prisoners voting but that the ECZ had not laid out any provisions for ensuring fair campaigning in the build up to the election. 

During yesterday’s cabinet session ministers also approved bills for the licensing and sale of industrial hemp, as well as providing clearer accreditation for higher education institutions. 

The Industrial Hemp Bill will also provide regulation for research into the potential uses of hemp, which supporters argue will soon come to be a vital commodity.