By Isaac Zulu
Guess Nyirenda says commissioners at ECZ are failing their duties by failing to appoint the chief electoral officer, over six months since the position was advertised.
In an interview, Nyirenda said he wonders why it is taking long for the Electoral Commission of Zambia Commissioners to employ a new substantive chief electoral officer because the said position was advertised about six months ago, and yet the Commissioners at the electoral body are not unveiling the new CEO at ECZ.
He said that the inertia to employ a substantive chief electoral officer at the Electoral Commission of Zambia is creating a lot of anxiety among Zambians, adding that the delayed employment of the CEO at the electoral body has the potential to erode confidence in the ECZ at regional and international levels.
“That position was advertised about five to six months ago by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. And we shudder to think that to date the position of the chief electoral officer at ECZ is still vacant,” Nyirenda said, who is also Operation Young Vote executive director. “We also concerned because the acting chief electoral officer cannot make sanctional decisions that can be effectively be implemented by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. As things stand, the Electoral Commission of Zambia is headless because it cannot make adminstrative decisions on a daily basis. We cannot have an electoral body without an acting chief electoral officer for more than a year. It should also be noted that the Electoral Commission of Zambia is held in high esteem in the country, at regional and international levels And not having a substantive chief electoral officer at the ECZ is a portraying a picture that this electoral body is no longer credible.”
He said that the Commissioners at the Electoral Commission of Zambia have abandoned their responsibility of putting in place a substantive chief electoral officer at the ECZ, arguing that the Head of State has no mandate to “hand pick the chief electoral officer at ECZ. This is now creating a picture that it is not a credible electoral body. Our Electoral Commission of Zambia has to continue meeting the required, national, regional and international standards.”
“The Commissioners at the Electoral Commission of Zambia are now neglecting their duties by failing to employ a substantive chief electoral officer at ECZ. According to the Electoral Act, it is the responsibility of the Commissioners at ECZ to employ the CEO at the electoral body; and not the Head of State,” said Nyirenda.
