Public Order Act Should Be Applied Equally – Wooley

British High Commissioner to Zambia Nicholas Wooley has warned that the Public Order act should be applied equally to all political parties during the campaign period in the lead up to the August 12 general election.

Speaking in response to a press query, Mr Wooley acknowledged that COVID-19 does not discriminate against who it infects, thus restrictions should be applied equally across all Zambians.

“The virus doesn’t distinguish nor should we. Fair elections need rules applied evenly without any political discrimination,” he said.

Speaking on the matter of how fair rules had been applied within the country so far, Mr Wooley implied that rules have, so far, far benefitted the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) government and have unfairly restricted the United Party for National Development (UPND) opposition.

“Based on what we have seen to date, I can understand why many Zambians are concerned about rules being applied fairly. Fair means allowing all parties and candidates the same opportunity to travel where they want. It means applying laws and regulations such as the Public Order act evenly on all parties and candidates, and it means giving all parties and candidates equal access to state-funded media” he added.

His comments follow instances of President Lungu travelling around the country last month whilst UPND President Hakainde Hichilema were unable to leave Lusaka, restricted by COVID-19 regulations. The opposition party have also struggled to gain coverage on ZNBC as well as print-based state-owned media as a result of government control.