By Jane Chanda
Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) Executive Director, Maurice Nyambe says they have received reports of senior UPND officials engaging in electoral malpractices where they are said to be dishing out K50s and other gifts under the guise of empowering citizens.
“With the polls scheduled for tomorrow, December 20, 2024, TI-Z has been monitoring the electoral campaign activities and has received reports of vote buying and the use of government programs to induce voters,” he stated.
In a statement yesterday, Nyambe cautioned that giving money to the electorate during the campaign period was not only a malpractice but also an assault on the integrity of the electoral process.
He argued that there was nothing normal about electoral corruption, and these practices were wrong regardless of which party was in government
“TI-Z has received reports that senior party officials of the ruling party had been engaging in the practice of dishing out ZMW50 and other gifts to the electorate under the guise of empowering citizens through government programs,” Nyambe stated.
He urged the public to be on high alert and report any candidate or official engaging in such illegalities to the relevant authorities.
Nyambe further encouraged any aggrieved party to formally report to the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s Conflict Management Committees.
He also challenged public officials, including ministers and district commissioners, to change the current narrative of using government programs to induce or coerce the electorate into voting for the ruling party.
Nyambe also called upon the UPND to resist the temptation of abusing their positions through distributing state resources with a view to coercing voters and therefore giving the party in government an unfair advantage over other political parties who do not have access to state resources.
“By-elections are not the time to suddenly accelerate the implementation of empowerment programs since this could potentially coerce or influence voters and ultimately undermine the integrity of the election,” stated Nyambe.
He commended the ECZ and other stakeholders for their efforts in ensuring a free and fair election, urging the commission to take decisive action against any candidate or official found engaging in electoral malpractices.
“We trust that as the people of Kawambwa go to the polls tomorrow, they will be able to elect their preferred member of parliament on their own accord and merit, rather than because they have been coerced in any way by any form of electoral malpractice,” he stated.
