UPND Alliance Appeals To AU, SADC On Voters Roll
UPND Alliance President Hakainde Hichilema has written an open letter to the Africa Union and SADC setting out the Alliance’s concerns with the provisional voters roll and calling on them to join moves by civil society and opposition to press for an independent audit, as well as remedial measures.
The letter sets out concerns ranging from the difficulty citizens had in trying to register, to concerns that the resulting voters roll is heavily biased and could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Zambians on election day, 12 August, 2021.
The letter also warns that in its current state and without an independent audit the new votes roll would undermine the credibility of upcoming elections and claims that it may also violate the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) and the OAU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa.
The full text of the open letter reads as follows:
Subject: New electoral register threatens prospects for a free and fair election in Zambia 2021
Dear African Union Chairperson HE President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo and SADC Chairperson HE President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi,
We are writing to express our grave concern regarding the outcome of the recent voter registration process in Zambia ahead of the general elections scheduled for 12 August 2021.
Based on the figures presented by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), it appears that concerns the new electoral roll was not developed in a fair and impartial manner have been validated.
This is most clearly seen in the fact that the number of voters registered in provinces that voted strongly in favour of the incumbent Patriotic Front party in 2016 have increased significantly. Meanwhile, the number of voters from provinces viewed as traditional opposition strongholds have seen substantial decreases.
The registration process, which took place in November and December 2020, was highly contested. Both opposition parties and civil society groups raised concerns around the practicalities and the partiality of the process, including the following:
The new voters roll replaces the pre-existing register, meaning those unable to participate in the recent process will be unable to vote in the 2021 elections. Despite this, just 37 days were allocated to registering the entire country. In light of the reduced number of voters in four of Zambia’s ten provinces[i] there are concerns that thousands of eligible citizens who were previously registered have been disenfranchised as a result.
The new voters roll contains an additional 304,021 voters. Yet, since the 2016 elections almost two million Zambians have turned 18.
The 4.5% increase in the number of voters on the roll is significantly lower than the increases recorded ahead of the 2016 elections, when the roll was increased by 29.7% and in 2011 when the roll was boosted by 31.1%.
During the registration period there were frequent reports of long queues, with voters discouraged by the lengthy waits or turned away and told to come back another day.
These were compounded by staffing and technology issues.
Misinformation and poor communication meant that voters were often unaware of when the exercise would take place at local polling stations, with deployment schedules communicated once the process was already underway
At the time reports circulated that known ruling party members were being bussed to registry stations in the middle of the night.
There were allegations that the process was skewed to favour of regions supportive of the incumbent Patriotic Front.
The exercise fell almost two million voters short of its target of nine million voters. The resulting register contains only an additional 304,021 compared to the 2016 register, which is composed of large increases in the number of voters in perceived ruling party strongholds, with significant decreases in areas that voted strongly for opposition candidates in 2016.
There were previously concerns around the mobile National Registration Card (NRC) exercise that proceeded the voter registration period, as citizens must have a valid NRC card to register as a voter. Oversight of the process was compromised in August 2020 when the Ministry of Home Affairs disbanded organisations which were monitoring the exercise.
In its current state we believe the new voters roll threatens to undermine the credibility of the August 2021 elections and paves the way for election disputes before the campaign period has even begun. We also believe it violates the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) and the OAU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa.
We therefore call upon Your Excellencies, to:
1. Ensure the AU and SADC does not legitimize an election based on a compromised voters roll.
2. Advocate for an independent audit of the new register to ensure the upcoming elections are credible and support public confidence in the process.
3. Support an extension to the voter registration to ensure eligible Zambians are not disenfranchised come 12 August 2021.
Respectfully yours,
Hakainde Hichilema
President of the United Party for National Development Alliance
