🇿🇲 BRIEFING | Tonse Raises Ballot Paper Concerns After Dubai Inspection
The Tonse Pamodzi Alliance says it will formally engage the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) after raising concerns over the printing of presidential ballot papers in Dubai, where political party representatives are observing the exercise ahead of the August 13 General Election.
Alliance representatives Enock Tonga, Kasonde Mwenda and Professor Nkandu Luo said two issues require clarification. The first relates to the printing of approximately 9.1 million presidential ballot papers, despite Zambia having about 8.7 million registered voters. The second concerns the ECZ’s decision not to publicly disclose the security features embedded in the ballot papers.
The delegation said it arrived in Dubai after printing had already commenced on 30 June, meaning it did not witness the start of the exercise. While acknowledging that the ECZ explained why printing began before all party representatives were present, the alliance said it would have preferred to observe the process from the outset.
According to the delegation, the ECZ attributed the higher number of ballot papers to the packaging process, explaining that ballots are printed in fixed bundles. The Tonse representatives, however, said they remain unconvinced, arguing that the number of printed ballots should closely correspond with the number of registered voters to avoid concerns over excess ballot papers.
The alliance also questioned why the ballot paper security features remain confidential, saying voters should be aware of the safeguards that enable them to verify the authenticity of their ballots on polling day.
Despite raising the concerns, the delegation said its intention is not to undermine public confidence but to promote transparency, adding that it will continue engaging the ECZ before providing further updates.
© The People’s Brief | Goran Handya
What do you expect to send the drama king Kasonde Mwenda ?
Ba Kasonde bena lyonse ma concerns
He can even use AI to verify the Ballot papers as he did with Choma pictures, abena KM ma serious lyonse. On going late, we can’t say much because even if it were the ruling UPND which went there late, the printing of Ballot papers could have gone ahead. ECZ had announced and gave all the political players ample time to travel to Dubai in time to witness the commencement of the printing. For security reasons, features may not be disclosed in order to avoid counterfeit or fake but similar ballot papers. ECZ is right not to disclose them. With AI in place, the world has become more complicated and people are capable of doing anything. Excess Ballots should not worry anyone because at the end of day, ECZ will still account for them, it’s not possible to have more votes than the voters, if that happened then the elections risk being nullified.
Don’t forget that everything concerning quantity requires CONTINGENCY
Comrade observers, the ECZ Chair person invited two observers from each political party if I am not mistake .This was said at a meeting which was televised.You could have delayed to start off and it was just difficult to wait for your unknown arrival in order to commence the printing.The job of printing is not a small thing.It has to be done on time or else you you fail to complete on time.The number of wards and constituencies have increased that number of extras is normal just mark the serial numbers and indicate in the occurrence books.The public can not be told or shown the type of paper and it’s water marks no.What to observe:-
* Correct names and symbols for candidates.
* Correct serial numbers on ballots.
* Correct parceling and numbering as well as indication of correct names of wards and constituencies.
* Record keeping in occurrence books.Bud copies of ballots and other documents must be shared in presence of observers.
You must observe and ask genuine questions where necessary.Transportation and receiving must be transparent through and through to avoid any suspensions.You must trust the ECZ.Avoid falsehoods and fake narratives when you are an observer.
Sorry: shraded and not word shared on the above submission.
