The Democratic Governance and Human Rights Advocates(DEGHA) has rubbished assertions made by some opposition political parties that there were pre-marked ballot papers for some of the 21 by-elections held in various parts of the country last week Friday.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia(ECZ) on Friday 4 November 2022, said it has invited Patriotic Front-PF Publicity Chairperson, Raphael Nakacinda, for a meeting today, Monday, November 7, 2022, following his sentiments in some sections of the media that the ruling United Party For National Development-UPND dispatched vehicles with pre-marked ballot papers to districts where elections were taking place last week.
But DEGHA National Coordinator Gerald Mutelo tells Phoenix News that inserting pre-marked ballot papers into ballot boxes is impossible with Zambia having one of the most transparent electoral processes that involve each participating political party, monitoring organizations, and other stakeholders who witness and sign off on elections.
Mr Mutelo is of the view that politicians have chosen to politicize matters by making such wild claims and has advised concerned individuals, parties, or organizations, to gather evidence and report such matters to relevant authorities for due process to take place.
He adds that it is worrying that politicians choose to spread misinformation during elections when the electoral process provides for polling agents from respective groupings that have the mandate to observe and report any anomalies that may be noticed.