The Electoral Process (Amendment) Act no 32 of 2021 provides for voting among persons
in prisons and makes it illegal for any entity, other than the ECZ, to announce and declare
election results. Although, the prison vote was largely expected, following the ruling by the
constitutional court in the case of Godfrey Malembeka versus The Attorney-General and
Electoral Commission of Zambia, the implementation has however been lacking in terms
of wider stakeholder consultation. Consequently, the Amendment Act which is meant to
address the modalities for prisoners to vote is limited in terms of scope. Many issues around
how to have access and to campaign in prisons have not been adequately addressed. These
limitations have reduced the integrity and transparency of the prison vote and thus creating
scepticism among political parties.
TI-Z also noted that the Amendment has extensively focused on the polling day while
neglecting to make adequate provision for the campaign period. It is not enough for “a”
candidate to deliver or distribute campaign materials in prisons, there is need to allow
candidates and their teams to explain their manifestos to the prisoners. Finally, TI-Z also
notes the provisions in the Electoral Process (Amendment) Act with regards the announcing
or declaration of results by other entities such as the media and Civil Society Organizations
is a direct attack on Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT).
