Restrictions Should Be Applied Equally Across All Parties – HRC

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) has said that restrictions must be applied equally across all political parties,.

In a statement released on Sunday, HRC spokesperson Mwelwa Muleya said that it hadn’t gone unnoticed that opposition parties were being unfairly treated compared to the leading Patriotic Front with regards to political campaigning restrictions.

“The commission is issuing this advisory statement against the backdrop of continued incidences of opposition political parties and their candidates being stopped by the Zambia Police Service from interacting with the electorate in some parts of the country while the ruling Patriotic Front and its candidates is freely campaigning,” he said.

Mr Muleya said that United Party for National Development (UPND) President, Hakainde Hichilema, had experienced particularly harsh treatment by the country’s police force.

“Mr Hakainde Hichilema was literally ‘detained’ by police for almost two hours at Chapala Airport runway on 30th July 2021 in Eastern Province in an attempt to block him from accessing the electorate. He was also temporarily blocked from entering Mpika, Isoka, Nakonde and Mbala Districts in Muchinga and Northern Provinces on 3rd August 2021,” he added.

The HRC Spokesperson went on to reiterate the importance of holding free and fair election, subsequently adding that restrictions must be applied equally to all political parties if this is to occur.

“If the legitimate purpose of restricting public gatherings is to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the restriction should apply equally across all political parties and candidates on the same basis. On the other hand, if the purpose is to maintain law and order, the restrictions should be non-discriminatory and must not be detrimental to the rights of other parties’ candidates while the ruling party and its candidates have heightened political campaigns without any restriction.”

During the campaign period, as political activities were restricted to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19, all opposition parties had no choice but to conduct online campaigning. In spite of this the leading Patriotic Front (PF) chose to travel across the country under the guise of ‘inspecting development projects’. However, concerns were raised that President Lungu instead took the opportunity to campaign illegally.