ELECTIONS

1. Elect; it is to choose a leader of a community or country.

2. Elections; it is the process of choosing a leader of a community
or country.
3. Franchise Rights; it is the right to vote.
10. Types of elections
 There are three types of elections, namely
a. Primary elections; these are elections held by different political
parties to choose candidates to stand in presidential, parliamentary
and local government elections.
b. General elections; these are elections held to choose the
president, members of parliament, mayors and councilor‘s every
after five years.
c. By-elections; these elections are held when a president, member of
parliament, mayor and councilor dies, resigns, expelled from the
party or is imprisoned for more than six months.
 Qualifications of president, Member of Parliament, mayor and
councilor.
President
i. Is a citizen by birth or descent
ii. Has been ordinarily a resident in Zambia iii. Is a registered
voter
iv. Has a grade 12 certificate or its equivalent
v. Fluent in the official language
vi. Has paid all taxes
vii. Declares all assets and liabilities
viii. Pays nomination fees
ix. Should be at least 35 years old
x. Is supported by at least 100 voters from each province xi. He or
she must belong to a political party
 Member of parliament
i. Must be a citizen
ii. Must be a registered voter
iii. Must be 21 years old
iv. Has a grade 12 certificate or its equivalent
v. Declares assets and liabilities
vi. Has paid all taxes
Mayoral and council chairperson
i. Is a citizen of Zambia
ii. At least 21years old
iii. Is a registered voter
iv. Has a grade 12 certificate or its equivalent
v. Declares assets and liabilities
vi. Has paid all taxes
Councilor
i. Is 19 years or older
ii. Has a grade 12 certificate or its equivalent
iii. Is a citizen or a holder of a resident permit, resident in a
district
iv. Has paid all taxes
v. Declares assets and liabilities
Electoral process
 These are stages or phases followed in electing leaders of a country
such as a president, members of parliament, mayors and councillors.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is the one in charge of the
electoral process
 It Is the Electoral Commission of Zambia [ECZ] is in charge of
electoral process in Zambia.

Stages or phases of electoral process in Zambia

A. Legislation
 This stage involves the formulation of legal framework to make the
electoral process legal.
B. Delimitation
The stage involves the dividing of the country into constituencies and
wards. The electoral commission of Zambia through the delimitation
commission undertakes this function.
C. Voter’s Education
This is a stage where the Electoral Commission of Zambia carries out
countrywide education on all voters concerning elections.
D. Registration of voters
This is the period given to all citizens above the age of 18 years and is
possession of the Green National Registration Card (NRC) to register as
voters (electorates). All voters are registered in the electoral register
and are issued with voter’s cards to make them vote for the leader of
their choice in any given elections.
E. Verification of Electoral Register
This is the period given to all registered voters to verify their particulars
in the electoral register
F. Nomination Day
This is a day given to all aspiring candidates to file in nominations as
candidates during elections.
Returning officer for presidential election is the chairperson of the
Electoral Commission of Zambia. All aspiring candidates are required to
pay nomination fees.
G. Campaigns
This is a period given to all aspiring candidates to sell their manifestos to
voters (electorates) through rallies, posters, radio, TV, adverts and
campaign t-shits and chitenges.
H. Polling day (Voting day)
This is the actual day of voting which last from 06 hours to 18:00hours.
All electorates are to carry a voter‘s card and Green National Registration
Card (NRC) to enable them vote. All electorates should go with clean
nails (no artificial nails) to be painted with marker on the thumb.
1 Presiding officer: co-ordinates and supervises the voting at a
polling station.
 2 Assistant presiding officer: the co-ordinates and supervises the
voting at a polling station in the event of multiple streams.
3 Polling assistants: these are election officers who perform
different duties at the polling station.
Materials found in a polling station
1. Polling booth- a booth where to vote from
2. Ballot paper- a list containing names and faces of candidates
3. Ballot box- this is a box where papers are dropped after
voting
I. Counting and Tabulating of Results
This stage involves counting and verification of votes before
announcement and declaration of the winner.
What is a rejected ballot paper?
A rejected ballot paper is one that is not included in the counting of
ballot papers due to the following reasons.
• Marking by the voter on more than one candidate
• Unmarked ballot paper
• Ballot paper marked with voter‘s name
• Ballot paper with voters signature
J. Announcement and Declaration of Votes
This stage involves announcement of results and declaring of the
winner.
1) Returning officer: He/she announces the final results at the
constituent level and declares the Member of Parliament (MP) who has
won the elections.
2) The returning officer in charge of announcing the final presidential
results is the chairperson for the Electoral Commission
Of Zambia (ECZ)
K. Election Petition
This is the final stage of the electoral process in Zambia.
 Anyone who took part in an election has the right to petition an
election based on the following principles:
(a) The person was not validly elected
(b) A provision of this Constitution or other law relating to the elections
was not complied with.
A presidential petition is heard by the constitutional court while that
of the member of parliament is heard by the high court with room to
appeal to the constitutional court
The local government petitions are heard by the local government
elections tribunal

SUMMARY OF ELECTORAL PROCESS IN ZAMBIA

 Legislation

Delimitation

Voter’s Education

Registration of voters

Verification of Electoral
Register

Nomination Day

Campaigns

Polling day
(Voting day
)

Counting and of
Tabulating Results

Announcement and Declaration of

Votes

Election
Petition

1. Roles of the Electoral Commission of Zambia

The constitution mandates the commission to implement the
electoral process that is;
i. Conduct elections and referendum ii. Delimit
electoral boundaries iii. Register voters

iv. Settle minor electoral disputes

v. Regulate the conduct of voters and candidates
vi. Accredit observers and election agents
 vii. To conduct voter education
viii. To review electoral laws
2. Electoral mal-practices
This is an illegal interference with the process of an election and this
has an effect on the credibility of an election.
Election rigging is the manipulating of the electoral process so that
the system favours a certain political party or candidate.
The following are ways of manipulating the electoral process;
i. Disenfranchisement, this is the situation where barriers are put in
place, stopping eligible voters from voting in an election.
ii. Voter intimidation, putting voters or a voter under pressure so that
they may vote in a certain way.
iii. Violence or threat of violence; this is where supporters who
belong to certain political parties are beaten by others supporters.
iv. Vote buying; this is a situation where voters are given money,
chitenges and beer so as to make them vote in a certain way.
v. Ballot stuffing; this is a situation where a voter submits multiple ballot
papers during voting.
vi. Misreporting votes; this happens during the counting of votes where
staff from the electoral body miss records votes for a certain political
party to benefit certain political party and disadvantage another political
party.
vii. Tempering with electronic voting machines; this is the tempering of
voting machines to advantage a certain candidate or party.
viii. Misleading information; this is the deliberate misinformation of a
candidate by a fellow candidate to disadvantage the opponents.