INTERIM STATEMENT BY THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION ON THE ZAMBIA PRESIDENTIAL, PARLIAMENTARY & LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

The SADC Parliamentary Forum Election Observer Mission for the 2001 Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections has been in the Republic of Zambia since 10 December 2001.

The Election Observation Mission to Zambia comprises 25 Members of Parliament drawn from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. The coming to Zambia of this Mission is part of the SADC Parliamentary Forum’s commitment to the struggle for and achievement of justice, democracy, gender equality and equity, the rule of law, sustainable development and good governance in the SADC region.

The Forum believes that democracy is a necessary precondition for social, political and economic transformation and parliamentarians are important catalysts in that process.

It is for this reason that, since 1999 the SADC Parliamentary Forum has observed national elections in five SADC member states, namely Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Tanzania.

Consistent with the objectives of the Forum, it is the Mission’s understanding that an election is not a one-day event but a process comprising a series of closely-related activities including but not limited to the registration of voters, nomination of candidates, campaigning and media coverage thereof, voting, counting and tabulation of votes, announcement and declaration of results. The deployment of the SADC Parliamentary Forum Mission was a follow up to the July 2001 voter registration exercise, which the SADC Parliamentary Forum also observed.  Arising out of that process was the gathering of useful background information on the process as it relates to the entire election process. The findings of the voter registration observation team have provided the current Mission useful base line information on the voter registration.

Since 10 December 2001, the Election Observation Mission has held consultations with and received submissions from a very wide cross section of electoral stakeholders.  Among other stakeholders, the Mission met representatives of political parties, candidates, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), civic organizations, the academic community, the media, religious groups and relevant government authorities. The Mission also held consultations and exchanged views with other international election observers and local monitors.  In holding these consultations, the Mission sought to acquaint itself fully with the socio-economic and political pre-election environment in Zambia, it being understood that the pre-election atmosphere necessarily has a bearing on the outcome of the electoral process itself.  The Mission also sought to be familiar with the legal framework of the Zambia electoral process as a basis upon which to assess the integrity of the process.

Parallel to consultations with stakeholders, visits to constituencies and attending political rallies in Lusaka Province, eight teams were deployed in all the provinces of Zambia.  The teams were in the provinces from 14th  - 28th December 2001.  While in the provinces, the teams submitted daily reports of their activities and observations to the Mission headquarters in Lusaka.

Findings and Recommendations

As the Mission winds up its programme in Zambia, and prepares to leave the country, it is important to note that the findings and recommendations contained in this statement cover only the period up to the counting of ballots. This is in view of the fact that the announcement of results is still progressing albeit at a slow pace.

Against this background, the Mission team leader, Hon. Speaker Ntlhoi Motsamai of Lesotho, the deputy team leader, Hon. Elia Kaiyamo of Namibia, Hon. Lutero C. Simango of Mozambique and Hon. Dr. Hassy H. B. Kitine of the United Republic of Tanzania will remain in the country to assess this critical phase.

The Mission commends the Electoral Commission of Zambia for hiring a significant number of women among its electoral officers. Equally notable was the participation of two women presidential candidates, including a number of parliamentary and local government candidates. The Mission further urges all the stakeholders to continue with this positive process in line with the 1997 SADC Declaration on Gender and Development.

A comprehensive report of the election observation Mission to be published before the end of March 2002 will be made available to all stakeholders and will be posted on the SADC Parliamentary Forum homepage – www.sadcpf.org

Having observed most of the electoral process comprising voter registration, the pre-election phase and voting, the SADC Parliamentary Forum Election Observation Mission re-convened in Lusaka on Saturday 29 December 2001 for final de-briefing.  It is on this basis that the Mission makes the following statement:
 

1. The Mission congratulates the people of Zambia for turning out in large numbers, for braving the rain and for voting in the most peaceful and exemplary manner. In spite of the long delays experienced at polling stations in a number of provinces, such as Lusaka and Northern Provinces among others. Zambians demonstrated remarkable patience, tolerance, political maturity and determination to cast their votes even late into the early hours of the next day.

2. The Mission was in the country long enough to observe and assess the coverage of election related issues by both the public and private media.  The Mission established that political parties other than the ruling party had either limited access or no access to the public media.  The Mission noted with serious concern that the media in Zambia is regrettably, highly polarised and was generally partisan in its coverage of the electoral process. Ideally, the public media should accord all political parties fair and equal coverage.

3. While the Mission appreciates and acknowledges that the fixing of the date of elections in Zambia is the prerogative of the President, a situation that obtains in most Westminster-style constitutions, the Mission regrets the timing of the tripartite elections in Zambia.  We note that as the day fell during the festive and comparatively rainy season, some voters may have been disenfranchised. The Mission is of the view that elections should ideally be held during a period most convenient to the electorate.  We recognize however, that notwithstanding the above, the people of Zambia turned out in their large numbers and exercised their constitutional right.

4. In recognition of the critical importance of elections as the midwife to participatory governance and representative democracy, the Mission is of the view that authorities consider creating a conducive environment for the electorate to exercise the right to vote.  To this end, the Mission notes with concern that no official regard was accorded to 27 December as the day of voting – an activity that takes place once in five years.  The Mission recommends that the date of voting should be declared a public holiday.  This, we hope, will allow as many eligible voters as possible to cast their ballots.  The congestion and long queues that were experienced during the just-ended tripartite elections can be partly attributed to the fact that some people could only find time to vote after working hours – or some thirty minutes before the closing of polling stations.

5. Without prejudice to the good work of the Electoral Commission of Zambia particularly in the pre-election period; the Mission strongly recommends that the Commission overhauls its election management system in order to ensure that the integrity of the process is not compromised.  For instance, we understand that in some polling stations, voting could not commence on time or only commenced the following day due to logistical and administrative problems. Some polling stations did not receive election material in time leading to delays in the voting process.

6. In view of the confusion observed during the casting of ballots in the tripartite elections, it is recommended that where more than one election are held simultaneously, transparent ballot boxes be introduced together with ballot papers of different colours corresponding to the respective ballot boxes.  This recommendation is based on lessons learned from the 2000 Tanzania general elections.  This arrangement not only saves time but also reduces the incidence of ballots being cast in the wrong ballot boxes.
 

7. Without prejudice to the sterling efforts of various NGOs in educating voters about the electoral process, the Mission notes that in some cases, voters in the rural areas were not fully aware of the voting procedures.  The Mission strongly recommends that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) seriously considers taking as one of its primary responsibilities, the education of voters.  It is also recommended that as the primary beneficiaries of the electoral process, political parties must engage in voter education.  The efforts of NGOs should complement those efforts of the primary stakeholders.

8. The Mission noted with concern the rather low number of registered voters.  According to the 2000 Census results, there are 4,687,997 adults or about 46% of the population in Zambia.  However, of that number, at the close of the extended voter registration exercise on 31 July 2001, only 2,604,761 or 56% of eligible citizens had registered to vote.  Given the fact that for a variety of reasons not all registered voters normally cast their ballots, the Mission views a voters’ roll of 56% of eligible citizens as too low.  The Mission also observed that on the eve of voting day and on voting day itself, many voters had still not collected their cards.  We recognize and appreciate however, that the ECZ made arrangements for voters to collect their cards on voting day.  In the light of the above, we recommend that authorities should strive to ensure that the process of applying for a National Registration Card is less cumbersome.  In the same breadth, the Mission welcomes the announcement by the ECZ that voter registration will now be carried out on a continuous basis, rather than in the period immediately preceding an election.

9. In view of the rather slow rate at which election results are being released as compared to other elections in the past, the Mission urges the Electoral Commission to expedite the announcement of election results.

10. The SADC Parliamentary Forum is convinced that the decision as to, who or which party forms the next government of Zambia, is for Zambians to decide. That important decision rests entirely with the people of Zambia.  The SADC Parliamentary Forum election observation programme is aimed at lending support to and strengthening the democratic process through sharing and exchanging views with stakeholders as well as learning from the electoral process.

11. The Mission wishes to congratulate the Commission and stakeholders for establishing Conflict Management Committees.  We believe such stakeholder Committees are an essential ingredient for a peaceful and participatory electoral process.  They go a long way in the confidence and consensus building effort.

___________________________
Hon. Ntlhoi Motsamai
Team Leader of the SADC Election Observation Mission to Zambia and Speaker of the National Assembly of Lesotho
____________________________
Hon. Elia G. Kaiyamo
Deputy Team Leader of the SADC Parliamentary Forum Observer Mission to Zambia and Member of the National Assembly of Namibia

Issued at Lusaka, Zambia
Sunday 30 December 2001