By Isaac Zulu
Election petitions are a drain on private and public resources, says MacDonald Chipenzi.
And Chipenzi has charged that Zambians are paying the price of holding by-elections using public resources because they have been tolerating and accepting irregularities in the electoral process.
In an interview with Daily Revelation, Chipenzi, who is Governance, Elections and Advocacy Research Services [GEARS] Initiative Zambia executive director, observed that election petitions come with huge costs, not only on parties to a petition; but on the National Treasury as well.
“So our counsel to the people is that, though petitions are a Constitutional requirement, they are very expensive. They are a drain on private and public resources. Imagine the money that the petitioners and those petitioned are paying to the lawyers…the legal costs are very high. And in a country that is already poor, that is escalation of poverty because some people have to sell their property to meet legal costs,” Chipenzi explained. “Then you have the cost on the Treasury because it has to release to money to the Electoral Commission of Zambia to hold by-elections. Talk of political parties themselves…they have to use money to, again, campaign in areas where they were campaigning prior to the August 12 general election.”
Chipenzi charged that Zambians are paying the price of holding by-elections using public resources because they have been tolerating and accepting irregularities in the electoral process.
“The fact is that we have been lenient to electoral malpractices [and] now were are paying the price for our being lenient. To tell you the truth, if there is any process that is riddled with corruption, it is the electoral process. And it seems like people have accepted it as a norm to tolerate corruption and bribery in this process,” said Chipenzi. “You saw how some people were even given choppers to go round the country and spread hate speech during campaigns. That is a demonstration of how people have accepted and tolerated irregularities in the electoral process. So we have to desist from electoral malpractices so that we avoid the costs that come with election petitions. And because of these petitions; the country will be kept on a constant mode of campaign up to 2026.”
He further observed that election petitions can only be avoided by changing the country’s electoral systems.
“For this to come to an end, we need to overhaul the whole electoral system through a robust enforcement mechanism. We cannot run away from election petitions and by-elections as at now because the laws have not changed. And we can only judge the UPND on this score if they do not change or change the law on by-elections in the next five years. These unnecessary by-elections come with costs,” Chipenzi explained.
Meanwhile, Chipenzi has commended individuals that petitioned the August elections results across the country, stating that they are putting the law to test and, at the same time, drawing lessons on the legal provisions relating to the electoral process.
“Election petitions are a legal and Constitutional requirement or entitlement. They are provided for both in our Constitution and the Electoral Process Act. So they are a figure of the Constitutional operations. Therefore, those who have decided to go to Court are running away from an orthodox method of resolving electoral disputes because they feel it is a peaceful way of resolving election disputes. And they have to be commended because it shows that they value peace. Again, the fact that they have gone to Court is a signal that they have learnt the provisions of the law…they are putting the law to test,” he explained. “But when you go to Court, you are depending on the opinion, understanding and interpretation of the judge. So depending on how the judge analyses your evidence, the judge will either nullify or uphold your election. And that is why there’s another avenue that allows people to seek redress by making an appeal to the Constitutional Court. And they will remain in Parliament until determination of the petition by the Constitutional Court, which is non-appeal-able.”
He further implored the Examination Council of Zambia to introduce biometric systems in the certification process of political candidates.
“And to those whose seats have been nullified due to grade 12 issues; we demand that the Examination Council of Zambia introduces biometric systems in the certification process so that those manipulators, forgers and fake presenters of certificates will be caught, because the biometric system will show who the genuine owner of that certificate,” said Chipenzi. “For instance, if there was Chipenzi at Chikakanta Secondary School on a particular year, using the biometric system it will come out just like that because passport photos and fingerprints would have been taken. And these forgeries in the certification process will come to an end.”
