PROTECT ECZ’S INTEGRITY, ZAMBIANS TOLD

By ANDREW MUKOMA ZAMBIANS for Unity Peace and Development (ZUPED) has called on all stakeholders in the country to support the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)’s efforts in hosting a transparent and credible electoral process. ZUPED President, Ronnie Jere, observed the ECZ had been consistent in providing relevant information to stakeholders concerning this year’s general election. Mr Jere said that the ECZ should be commended by all those involved in the electoral process for its valuable efforts to deliver a credible election. “As ZUPED, we would like to commend the ECZ for being transparent in the way they are handling the electoral process,” he said. This is contained in a statement released to the Daily Nation in Livingstone yesterday. Mr Jere noted that the ECZ had been engaging stakeholders from the beginning and held multiple media briefings to inform all stakeholders of the progress made in the electoral process. “For us, this is highly commendable and builds confidence in the credibility of the 2021 elections this August which we think will be one of the most credible elections Zambia has held. “We want to commend them for being upright despite all the negative sentiments coming from some stakeholders more notably the opposition political parties. As ZUPED we don’t expect people to cry foul and complain about rigging,” Mr Jere said. He added that people know the figures and numbers and if there was any malpractice or manipulation indicators would show. “We therefore call for calm and confidence in the commission which is the most credible electoral body in the region if not the world,” he said.