Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and happy new year to you all.
Thank you for joining us for this first press briefing of the new year. In our address today,
we will be giving our comprehensive reflection on the recently-held Kawambwa
parliamentary by-election, which took place last month and which we had the opportunity
to officially monitor. We will also look forward to the forthcoming by-elections in Petauke
and Pambashe constituencies, as well as sharing some reflections of some upcoming
key events in the context of our work.
Ladies and Gentlemen, TI-Z sent a team on the ground to monitor the Kawambwa
parliamentary by-election as part of the wider cohort of election monitors from different
entities. In the wake of the election results being announced, we gave an initial reaction
congratulating the winner, but stated that we would give a more comprehensive position
in due course. We are now happy to share this comprehensive position, and we will be
highlighting six main reflections in that respect:
- Electoral Malpractices: As part of our comprehensive monitoring of the by
election, we received information on the happenings at various electoral events
such as campaign rallies that were taking place across the entire constituency.
Consequently, TI-Z became aware of reports of electoral malpractices such as
vote buying and the use of government programmes to induce voters. There were
several incidences of vote buying through the provision of food items, cash,
transport services among others, and in our view, this compromised the integrity
of the election. For example, there were incidences of senior government officials
from the ruling UPND party engaging in the practice of dishing out ZMW 50 and
other gifts to the electorate under the guise of empowering citizens. The Electoral
Process Act No 35 of 2016 clearly defines the offering of money or gifts to voters
as an electoral offence, and the level of impunity with which this was happening
left much to be desired.
- Campaign Financing: Article 60 (4) of the constitution of Zambia provides for the
establishment of the Political Parties Fund, for the regulation of sources of funding,
and maximum amounts for campaigns during elections. However, in the absence
of a substantive law to actualize these constitutional provisions, electoral financing
remains largely unregulated in Zambia. Consequently, TI-Z noted that the UPND
were significantly visible in terms of campaign materials in Kawambwa, in
comparison with other political parties. For us, this highlighted the importance of
sustaining the conversation around political party financing in Zambia. While there
may be some resistance in some circles, it is clear that funding political parties in
some shape or form will contribute to the strengthening of our democracy, given
that political parties are a central element of any country’s democracy. We
therefore urge government to expedite the enactment of legislation on political
party and campaign financing in order to contribute to the enhancement of
Zambia’s democracy.
- Independence of Electoral Commission of Zambia: Several stakeholders
representing some opposition political parties shared with TI-Z several concerns
over the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s independence at different levels of its
structure during the Kawambwa by-election. TI-Z notes that, while the Constitution
of Zambia stipulates that the ECZ shall have offices in provinces and progressively
in districts, the Commission continues to rely on Town Clerks and Council
Secretaries to serve as District Electoral Officers (DEOs) with the responsibility of
administering the polls at the district level. TI-Z is of the view that this situation is
undesirable, as it potentially creates confusion for the ECZ officials at district level
that are mandated to administer by-elections in their execution of duties. Beyond
this, we are of the view that throwing this responsibility onto the said council
officials is effectively an abdication of responsibility on the part of the ECZ, and we
call on them to make immediate amends to strengthen the management of
elections at district levels. Specifically, TI-Z recommends for the appointment of
independent ECZ district officials, as this will increase confidence among all
stakeholders in the independence of the ECZ.
- Enforcement of Laws: TI-Z noted that during the campaign period, none of the
four political parties came into conflict with the Public Order Act. The police
enforced the Public Order Act and other standard operating procedures fairly, and
this provided a fair playing field for the participating political parties. We commend
the Zambia Police Service for this and encourage them to build on this practice for
future elections. However, the ECZ would have done better in terms of enforcing
its regulatory power under the Electoral Code of Conduct, as evidenced by the
non-sanctioning of electoral malpractices, such as the dishing out of money as
stated earlier.
- Women Participation: Articles 45 and 47 of the constitution provide for gender
equity in the National Assembly and councils. TI-Z noted that all the four political
parties that participated in the Kawambwa parliamentary by-election, nominated
male candidates. This may be due to the prohibitive nomination fees, minimum
education requirements, lack of intra-party policies to support women participation
and gaps in the overall regulatory framework to ensure full inclusion and
participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities, in line with regional
standards. We therefore wish to urge all political parties in Zambia to seriously
reflect on this and create fair and equitable opportunities for their female members
to take part in the electoral process, including as candidates for elections at
different levels.
- Political Violence: During the campaign period and on election day, there were
two incidences of electoral violence, largely perpetrated by supporters of both the
UPND and the New Congress Party in collaboration with the Tonse Alliance
members. While the pre-election and polling day violence did not seem to have
any impact on the number of people turning out to exercise their right to vote, it did
nevertheless, leave an indelible and unwanted stain on the electoral process. We
therefore, urge all political parties never to lose cognizance of the importance of
maintaining peace throughout the electoral process, and we urge the ECZ and
Zambia Police to take strong punitive measures on any political players that
engage in violence.
Ladies and Gentlemen, our monitoring of the Kawambwa by-election allowed us to
develop and roll out a web-based campaign financing monitoring tool to track political
party’s campaign spending in elections. This innovation is anchored on article 60 (4) c, d
of the Constitution of Zambia, and its main objective is to track the cost of politics from
the pre-adoption, adoption, campaign spending and post-election periods. We will be
using this tool in all subsequent elections, including the forthcoming parliamentary by
elections in Petauke and Pambashe, the former of which we will be on the ground to
monitor. All these election monitoring activities will culminate into the launch of the
Elections Monitoring Report in March 2025, which will contribute to strengthening
electoral integrity and promoting free and fair elections in Zambia.
In addition to our elections monitoring work over the next few weeks, we would also like
to draw your attention and indeed that of the Zambian citizenry to the upcoming launch
of the 2024 Corruption Perception Index report and the launch of the Zambia Bribe Payers
Index Survey report. The launch of all these reports will constitute the main activities that
TI-Z will be undertaking during the first quarter of 2025.
Ladies and Gentlemen. The Corruption Perceptions Index is the most widely used global
measure of corruption and ranks 180 countries and territories across the world in terms
of their level of public sector corruption. As you may recall, the 2023 CPI showed Zambia’s
score improving by 4 points, and as we look forward to the launch of the 2024 CPI,
scheduled for 11th February 2025, we call on all stakeholders to reflect on Zambia’s
present anti-corruption efforts. It is important to note that the CPI is conducted at a global
level and as such, TI-Z has not influence on the findings. We therefore call upon all
stakeholders to gain familiarity with the scope and methodology of the CPI, in order to
avoid the usual trend of issuing uninformed reactions to the results.
Ladies and Gentlemen. In partnership with the Anti-Corruption Commission, TI-Z is in the
process of finalizing the 2024 Zambia Bribe Payer Index (ZBPI) report. The purpose of
the ZBPI is to generate an empirical evidence-base to support stakeholders in the
designing and implementation of appropriate anti-corruption interventions. In terms of
indicators, the ZBPI measures the likelihood of paying a bribe solicited by a public officer
from any of the public institutions in the survey. In the 2022 ZBPI, the Overall Aggregate
Bribery Index was 10.1%, a decrease from 10.9 recorded in 2019. As we look forward to
the launch of the 2024 ZBPI, scheduled for end of February 2025, TI-Z calls upon the
public institutions in the survey to take stock of their anti-corruption efforts during the past
two years. The ZBPI is not aimed at naming and shaming selected public institutions but
is an attempt at providing a credible basis for corrective action. You may wish to know
that the results of this survey inform the development of engagement strategies for both
TI-Z and the ACC in strengthening integrity standards with public institutions and
combating bribery in general.
In conclusion, TI-Z calls upon all stakeholders to support the launch of the 2024 CPI, 2024
ZBPI and the Elections Monitoring Reports during the first quarter of 2025. We also call
upon the media, the public and other stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the
scope and methodology of these assessments in order to provide informed reactions,
once these reports are published. Lastly, as the Petauke and Pambashe by-elections
draw closer, it is our hope that lessons have been learned from the conduct of the
Kawambwa by-election, and that all stakeholders, including the police, the ECZ and
political parties across the political divide, will conduct themselves in line with the law so
as to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
Thank you and may God bless Zambia.
