LUSAKA - Tonse Pamodzi Alliance Chairperson for Presidential Affairs Binwell Mpundu has sparked concern after declaring that he is prepared to die and kill in connection with the August 13 General Election.
Mr. Mpundu made the remarks while reacting to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)’s clarification that voters may use a tick, X, dash or another single mark to indicate their preferred candidate on the ballot paper.
“Our lives are at stake. I’m ready to die. And I’m ready to kill,” Mr. Mpundu said.
He claimed that some opposition figures could be at risk if anything went wrong with the elections.
“For this election, people like me, I am ready to be killed. I’m also ready to kill. Because I know very well that when everything goes wrong, if anything goes wrong with these elections, some of us will not have our lives,” he said.
Mr. Mpundu also criticised the ECZ’s position that a tick is a valid way of marking a ballot paper, arguing that voters have traditionally used an X.
“Voting will proceed as it has been over all these years. There’s just going to be a cross sign. We will not be ticking this time around,” he said.
He questioned why political stakeholders were not consulted before the clarification was issued and argued that any change to the voting procedure should have been reflected in amendments to the Electoral Process Act.
Mr. Mpundu further raised concerns that allowing ticks could create suspicion over the use of pre-marked ballots.
“Would you be surprised if people insinuated that there are pre-marked ballots that have been ticked? That is why you now want to bring in an alien practice,” he said.
He maintained that ticking was an “alien practice” in Zambia’s elections and urged voters not to use it.
However, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro has clarified that the X is not the only acceptable mark on a ballot paper.
Mr. Kasaro said a tick, X or dash is valid provided it is contained within the space allocated to the candidate being voted for.
He also warned voters against making more than one mark on a ballot paper, as this could result in the ballot being rejected.
Voters have further been advised not to sign ballot papers or write their names or initials on them.
Source: Kalemba