ZAMBIA: Christian Churches Monitoring Group Calls for Inclusivity, Transparency in Government Appointments
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
The Government of Zambia need to be transparent and consider inclusivity in appointment of commissioners to the electoral Commission for effective management of electoral process, Members of the Christian Churches and Monitoring Group (CCMG) in the landlocked country in south-central Africa have said.
In their collective statement published Thursday, October 13, the group whose mission is to strengthen genuine democratic electoral processes and encourage citizen participation in democratic governance in Zambia through civic and voter education, non–partisan election monitoring, research and documentation, electoral reforms advocacy and, capacity building of civil society organizations in democracy, elections and governance asked the Head of State to pro-actively adopt the right procedures for filling the vacant Commissioner posts.
According to CCMG which is a consortium of Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) through Caritas Zambia, Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflections (JCTR), Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), “There are currently two open positions on the Commission which, according to the legal framework, are to be appointed by the President, with ratification by the National Assembly.”
In their suggestion in the statement signed by members including Fr. Francis Mukosa from ZCCB and a steering committee Member of CCMG and Fr. Alex Muyebe form JCTR and the steering committee Spokesperson of the group the president should consider “Short-listing and selection criteria that values independence and non-partisanship, competence and integrity, with these criteria provided to stakeholders and the public.”
Additionally, the government should “Open advertising of recruitment for Commissioners to encourage diverse candidates and the provision for the public to nominate candidates,” members of CCMG highlighted in their message and continued, “A short-listing and selection process that involves key stakeholders and enhances transparency, including public interviews conducted by an independent body,” should be adopted which they say is similar to practices in South Africa and Namibia.
In their suggestion as way forward to enhance transparency, accountability and inclusivity of Zambia’s electoral processes, the CCMG members who were together with members of civil society and Zambian citizens with keen interested in the process of appointing Commissioners to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the process should consider “gender balance in appointments, reflecting the Constitution’s commitment to gender equality.”
Besides the statement reads further there should be “Codification of these recommendations in Zambia’s legal framework through amendment of the Electoral Commission of Zambia Act and the Electoral Process Act.”
The monitoring group noted that ECZ Commissioners “perform key roles in providing oversight in the daily affairs of the Commission and in discussing and deciding on policy related matters.”
They further asked the “government to go beyond implementation of these recommendations for the current vacant positions and amend the Electoral Commission of Zambia Act No. 25 of 2016 (as amended in 2019) to include under Section 5 the listed recommendations in order to promote transparency and inclusivity in the appointment process, and enhance the independence of the ECZ as an institution and strengthen our democracy.”
