Political Parties Concerned With Storage Of Ballot Papers In Ndola

Ndola Town Clerk Cosmas Chalusa has assured political parties representatives and stakeholders that the ballot papers will be kept safe until election Day.

Mr Chalusa said this after a conflict resolution was held with political party stakeholders who were not in agreement with the led down procedure of having state police to man the premises where the ballot papers are being kept.

Mr Chalusa explained that the challenge had been resolved and that ballot papers are secure as the police will help with security as stipulated by the law.

“We are ready to keep the ballot papers safe until Election Day and we are working with the police because everything has to be done according to the stipulated Zambian laws,” he said.

A misunderstanding erupted in the process of offloading ballot papers by political party representatives and stakeholders who had gone to witness the offloading and securing of ballot papers at the Ndola skills training center which arrived at 09:40 hours.

Ndola central constituency returning officer Joseph Kaweche had a tough time coming to tames with stakeholders and political parties who seemed uncomfortable with the procedure but eventually reached a consensus of opening heavy pallets inside the truck.

The stakeholders where uncomfortable that ECZ truck which brought the ballot papers from Lusaka to Ndola was suspected not to be locked which raised concerns among stakeholders.

And The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has delivered ballot papers for the August 12 general elections, to Nchelenge district in Luapula Province.

Different stakeholders, who included the political parties and members of the media, were on hand to witness the offloading of the ballot papers in the district.

Speaking when he addressed the stakeholders, Nchelenge District Electoral Officer Emmanuel Sikanyinka assured that the ballot papers will be stored in a secure place.

Dr Sikanyika also disclosed that the deployment of 738 poll staff, as well as dispatching of electoral materials to various poling districts will commence on August 9th, 2021.

He has since appealed to political parties to continue co-existing, adding that Nchelenge should be a model to other districts.

Nchelenge Constituency has a total of 71,866 registered voters.

This article originally appeared on Lusaka Times