The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) says it has received half of the funds required for the voter registration Exercise.
Speaking at a media briefing, Commission Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano said following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and reduced fiscal space, ECZ revised its voter Registration budget from its initial K842 million to K674 million.
Mr. Nshindano stated that K325 million has since released by the treasury and that the commission will continue to engage with the treasury on the remaining balance.
“The Commission also takes this opportunity to thank the treasury for the commitment despite the many challenges the country is facing, we do recognize that resource in the country especially on the part of revenue mobilization for the treasury especially in view of the depressed economy as a result of Covid-19 has been a challenge,” Mr. Nshindano said.
And Mr. Nshindano also disclosed that the budget for the 2021 General elections is estimated at K1.5 billion, adding that procurement of Voter registration and Election materials have reached and advanced stage.
He said the country’s electoral body wants to ensure that both security and non-security materials are delivered on time in order to avert late delivery of materials to polling stations.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nshindano said the Commission has made tremendous progress in the implementation of the activities for the Voter Registration Exercise which will commence on 19th October, 2020 to 20th November, 2020.
The ECZ Chief Electoral Officer explained that the recruitment of Voter registration staff is still underway across the country for different positions, while the recruitment process for Technical Support Officers and the Assistant Registration Officers-field has just concluded the conduct of aptitude tests across the country.
He added that ECZ has also successfully held consultative meetings in all the 10 provincial Centers with all the Provincial Registration Officers and District Registration Officers who will be in charge of the Voter registration process and Provincial and District level.
On Online Pre-Voter Registration Service, Mr. Nshindano disclosed that the Commission successfully conducted the first phase of the Beta Testing for the pre-registration platform from 18th to 25th July, 2020 whose aim was to get feedback from the users on the efficiency and effectiveness of the system.
He said it is gratifying to note that a good number of people participated in the first testing exercise of the online pre-registration exercise, as evidenced by the overwhelming response the commission received.
Mr. Nshindano added that the second phase of the Online-preregistration is scheduled for the 31st of this month to 7th September, 2020.
He said this will be the final testing exercise and will be officially launched on 21st September and will run up to 1st November, 2020.
Further, the Chief Electoral Officer revealed that ECZ has made steady progress towards preparations to facilitate for prisoners voting, as the technical team just returned from a provincial tour of correctional facilities where they were conducting an assessment on the suitability of the facilities in view of the forthcoming voter registration exercise and the 2021 polls.
“It is expected that the team will conclude drawing up of the specific operational procedures by mid-September 2020 which will be in time for the Voter registration exercise in October,” he said.
He reiterated the need for all eligible Zambians to ensure they register as voters in order for them to take part in the 2021 General elections and future polls, further encouraging already registered voters to also register during the exercise because ECZ will be updating the system.
“While the commission will retain the current registered voters, this is on condition that that they present themselves or verification, update and capture of additional information required including biometric capture and issuance of a new voter card in order to remain as registered voters.”
“Further, the Commission will consider one whose registered deceased if they do not present themselves, as part of the process involves the removal of deceased persons from the register,” Mr. Nshindano stated.