ZAMBIA: Improving the Credibility of Elections – AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Department Undertakes Election Observer Mission Work in Zambia
Africa and especially, Eastern and Southern part Africa, has been on the edge in the last month as Zambia prepared and went to the polls.
The initial reports coming out of Zambia in the run up to the elections was that there was high tensions and also violence in some areas had been reported. It was also expected to be a close race with worries of low voter turnout.
With this in mind, AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Department together the Zambian Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) – Caritas Zambia, organized an observer mission with representatives from at least four (4) AMECEA countries. The countries represented in the mission included Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The team was joined by the AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Coordinator and the Programme Officer in the department.
This was the first time that AMECEA was getting involved in comprehensive Election Observer work and the occasion was also utilized to stand in solidarity with the Zambian Episcopal Conference. The occasion also served as a learning exercise for the conferences in the region on electioneering process especially from the work being undertaken by Caritas Zambia in collaboration with other Christian churches in Zambia. This includes the Parallel Voter Tabulation system that has proven accurate and also provides a neutral voice to citizen on results of the elections.
The mission was established within the framework of regional collaboration and integration of the work of the church that AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas department intends to grow. These kind of missions are meant to ensure that the voice of the church is heard in governance and electioneering in the region.
The final results were announced on 15th August 2016 and they showed that President Edgar Lungu won with a 50.25% of the cast vote. It is worthwhile to note that the Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) also announced their results, which showed that the President had won with 50.4% with an error margin of +-2.5%. These results to some extend vindicate the Election Commission of Zambia which has done a credible job under the very immense pressure of a closely contested presidential election. The narrow win also signifies the growing maturity of voters in the region with more and more people coming our to offer their voices through the ballot. The voter turnout was unprecedented and the much-anticipated rerun will not be taking place.
The opposition party has raised concerns especially in the delay of announcing the results, but from an observer’s perspective, the elections were free and fair and it as necessary to be meticulous in announcing the elections to ensure that there was little room for error.
It is the position of the AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas that the opposition political leadership in Zambia reflect on the elections and prepare to offer credible opposition in parliament so that the voice of the Zambian people is comprehensively heard. It is also critical to follow laid down procedures for elections disputes without inciting the communities against each other. This is what democracy is about. Putting in place credible institutions and believing in them. Next in line for elections is Kenya and AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Department will be working with Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) through the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) and Caritas Kenya to undertake Election Observer Mission work in the country. AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas will seek to increase the size of the observer mission to bring on board all the conferences in the region to form part of the team.
AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas commends Caritas Zambia for the elaborate election monitoring work being undertaken by them and would wish that this approach is replicated across all AMECEA Countries.
By Antony Mbandi, AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Coordinator
