By Chinoyi Chipulu
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) says Article 52 (6) of the Zambian constitution, in its current form is subject to a lot of abuse.
And Zaloumis said the cited article posed challenges in the implementation of nominations and the electoral process.
Speaking during the orientation of the Electoral Reform Technical Committee (ERTC), ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis cited the cancellation of the Kayo Ward by-election in Mwansabombwe District on January 12, 2024, triggered by the resignation of a candidate of the Citizen First Party.
“The Commission is alive to the challenges that Article 52 (6) poses in the implementation of nominations and the
electoral process. For instance, the Commission is on record as having cancelled the Kayo Ward by-election in
Mwansabombwe District. This cancellation was done after the Commission had conducted its nominations and was scheduled to hold the polls,” she said.
Zaloumis said in instances where Article 52 (6) had been successfully invoked, the Commission has had no option but to cancel the nomination and call for a fresh election.
“Such a provision is therefore, subject to abuse by candidates as has been seen in the past and has the potential of disrupting the electoral process,” Zaloumis said.
She also cited an instance where there was a disruption of the electoral process in Mayembe Ward Shiwangandu District when one candidate was coerced to resign from the election by another political party without the knowledge of his sponsoring party.
“There are serious costs attributed to the cancellation of an election both to the Commission and the participating candidates, which have to be taken into
consideration every time that this provision is invoked,” she said.
Zaloumis said there were other provisions in the Constitution and the Electoral Process Act that needed to be addressed in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the electoral process.
“The Commission has taken note of the public discussions around Article 52 of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016 which relates to the nomination procedure.
The Commission has observed that, the discussions have focused on sub-articles as opposed to the whole Article 52. The entire Article 52 of the Constitution is key to the
operations of the Commission and the execution of a key process that is nominations,” she said.
And Zaloumis said ECZ had appointed Rabbison Chongo to lead the Technical Committee to spearhead the electoral reform process and tasked the Committee to address the gaps in the provisions of the constitution and electoral process Act.
