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| Political governance in Zambia: A Civil Society Perspective |
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Appendix III
Extracts of Conclusions by Monitors and Observers of the 2001 Elections in Zambia
Preliminary Report of the Ecumenical Observer Team for the December 27 2001 Tripartite Elections January 18th 2002.
"Use of Government Resources for Party Election Campaign
Our observation was, as in the conduct of the public media, that the ruling party continued to utilise government resources for its election campaigns. This gave the ruling party’s candidates unfair advantage over the other political parties.
In essence there was a lack of adherence to the electoral regulations concerning the use of government resources during election campaigns.
After considering all the above components, our conclusion is that although the elections were peaceful and incident free, they cannot be certified as free and fair and therefore the government cannot be recognised as one that has been legitimately elected."
Coalition 2001 The December 27 2001 Tripartite Elections in Zambia – Executive Summary of the Preliminary Report (February 2002)
"Following on to these summary observations, Coalition 2001 finds the December 27, 2001 elections in Zambia severely lacking in integrity, and that the public agency tasked with the administrative and management of the elections "exempted" itself of the responsibility to guarantee that the right to make political choices is respected.
The issues provided herein lead the Coalition 2001 to: Not only question the legitimacy of the continuity of governance legally assented to by the Chief justice as Returning Officer at the Supreme Court grounds; But also whether the individual right to make political choices was protected.
Therefore, it is very difficult for any serious and reasonable individual or group of individuals to affirm that the December 2001 elections in Zambia were free and fair."
The Position of NGOCC on the Just Ended Elections and Results Press Release - 13th January 2002
"The serious anomaly that relates to this point is the fact that people were voting while announcements of election results were going on through the ECZ and the Media. This could have influenced the voters' choice in favour of a particular political party. Incidentally, the first announcements were for the places where MMD had scored victory."
Final Statement on the Zambian Elections 2001 – European Union Election Observation Mission - 5th February 2002
"Taking its performance into account in relation to the low - 55% - rate of voter registration, its failure to enforce its Code of Conduct, its maladministration of polling day, and its failure to address serious concerns relating to the accuracy of the announced results, we conclude that the Electoral Commission of Zambia has failed to fulfil its mandate on behalf of the electors of Zambia.
In view of the administrative failures on polling day, the serious flaws in the counting and tabulation procedures, together with the close outcome of the elections, we are not confident that the declared results represent the wishes of the Zambian electors on polling day.
We strongly recommend that the Electoral Commission publishes the voting figures from each polling station as an important contribution to transparency."
Interim statement by the SADC Parliamentary Forum Election Observation Mission on the Zambia Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections – Press Release Sunday 30 December 2001
"Without prejudice to the good work of the Electoral Commission of Zambia particularly in the pre-election period; the Mission strongly recommends that the Commission overhauls its election management system in order to ensure that the integrity of the process is not compromised. For instance, we understand that in some polling stations, voting could not commence on time or only commenced the following day due to logistical and administrative problems. Some polling stations did not receive election material in time leading to delays in the voting process.
In conclusion, we are confident that in spite of the problems experienced particularly on voting day, the just-ended tripartite elections afforded the people of Zambia an opportunity to exercise their constitutional right. The Mission wishes to put on record its gratitude appreciation to the government and people of Zambia for their hospitality and unqualified cooperation throughout our mission to Zambia."
Interim Statement by Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) President Dr. Alfred Chanda on the December 27, 2001 Tripartite Elections at a Press Briefing held at Holiday Inn on January 3, 2002
"After analysing almost 90% of election observation forms from the 6,247 FODEP monitors, and also considering the pre-election monitoring reports, it is FODEP’s well considered, factual and honest view that the 2001 elections were not efficiently and successfully conducted. As a result, this has raised serious questions regarding the legitimacy and credibility of the election results. This is very unfortunate, as it has created public contempt of the outcome of the election as evidenced by public demonstrations at a time the President-elect was being sworn in. That indicates the measure of legitimacy, or lack of it, of the just ended elections.
FODEP also wishes to strongly recommend that the original requirement of a Presidential candidate winning by 51% which the country had been using from 1964 until 1996 be restored. The Presidency is a very serious position and anyone elected to it must enjoy a mandate from a reasonably high number of voters.
A situation where a President is elected by about 30% of the voters as the case was during the last elections does not give credibility to the office of the Republican Presidency."
The Carter Centre Lusaka Field Office, Final Statement of the Zambia 2001 Elections, March 7, 2002
"…the government and the ECZ lacked the political will to take necessary steps to ensure that the elections were administered effectively and transparently."
"… Given these concerns, the Centre concludes that the ECZ and government have failed to meet the state burden of responsibility to administer a fair and transparent election and to resolve electoral irregularities that clearly could have affected the outcome of a close race. As a result, the Centre concludes that the election results are not credible and can not be verified as accurately reflecting the will of Zambian voters. Unless and until the ECZ provides clear evidence to dispel doubts about the accuracy of official results, the Centre believes the legitimacy of the entire electoral process will remain open to question."
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