interim statement
EISA Regional Observer Mission to the Zambia 2006 Tripartite Elections 28 September 2006 (continued)

2 Preliminary findings of the Mission

After analysing the observations made by its different teams deployed on the ground and basing itself on norms and guidelines contained in the PEMMO, the EISA Mission has made the following findings:

2.1 The Political Context in Zambia

The 2006 Tripartite Elections were the fourth set of elections since Zambia's return to multi-party democracy in 1991. It is generally agreed that elections in 1996 and 2001 were marred by enough administrative and political inconsistencies as to make questionable the final election outcome and thus the legitimacy of the elected leaders. The 2001 elections in particular, raised concerns about the future of the Zambian democracy. In this context, the September 28 Elections were a test of the maturity of Zambian people and of the consolidation of democracy and an opportunity to erase doubts raised by the chaotic elections in 2001.

2.2 The Constitutional and Legal Framework for Elections

The Constitution provides for the respect of basic civil and political rights which is in line with the recommendations in the PEMMO. The law provides for a unicameral National Assembly with legislative powers and a directly elected President. The term of office for both the President and the National Assembly is a period of five years. The President of the Republic of Zambia is the Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-in-Chief, and is elected directly by universal suffrage by secret ballot, as are the members of the National Assembly. The Vice-President and the Ministers are appointed by the President from among the members of the National Assembly.

The main legal instruments governing the Tripartite Elections are:

  • The Constitution of Zambia adopted in 1991 and last amended in 1996;
  • The Electoral Act adopted on May 19 2006;
  • The Electoral Commission Act 1996;
  • The Electoral Code of Conduct Regulations of August 4, 2006;
  • Local Government Elections Act 1994;
  • Various ECZ Regulations.

2.3 The Electoral System

The Mission notes that Zambia uses a First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system. Under this system, 150 Members of Parliament are elected to the National Assembly and the President appoints 8 more MPs. Councilors for over 1400 wards are directly elected. Although this system has been criticised for marginalising groups such as youth and women, the mission notes that Zambia has committed itself to electoral reform through the Electoral Reform Technical Committee. The mission hopes that these efforts will continue after the elections.

2.4 Voter Registration

Voter registration was held from October 31-December 31 2005 and the process was lauded by all stakeholders as being a great improvement compared to the registration process which preceded the 2001 elections. The introduction of electronic registration improved the speed and efficiency of the process. The new registration cards which used both facial and fingerprint recognition also improved the safeguards in the system.

Legal action taken by the ECZ against persons attempting to register twice also demonstrated the commission's commitment to a transparent registration process and to the production of a clean voters' roll. The mission notes also the gesture made by the ECZ to provide copies of the entire voters' roll to each of the Presidential candidates which is unusual in the SADC Region where stakeholders sometimes have to pay exorbitantly to acquire the voter's roll.

We note also that the system that has been established will allow for continuous registration of voters and continuous update of the voters lists. This removes the need for a new registration process for each new election and will reduce the financial burden on the Commission.

page 1  ·  2  ·  3  ·  4  ·  5  ·  6  ·  7