By STEVEN ZANDE –
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) says it intends to strengthen engagement with school clubs to accelerate dissemination of voter education and encourage voting among young people.
ECZ Commissioner Emily Sikazwe said this was part of existing efforts aimed at promoting stronger citizen participation in the electoral process, saying this would ensure youths had adequate information and participated fully in the elections.
“The initiative is aimed at instilling a culture of integrity, patriotism and civic participation among Zambian learners,” Ms Sikazwe said.
She said this during a two-day review workshop in Lusaka to assess performance of the VESC.
This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by ECZ public relations manager Margaret Chimanse.
Ms Sikazwe said the clubs were a crucial platform in engaging young people and in reaching out to the wider communities in sharing information about the electoral process.
She encouraged workshop participants to participate fully in the process which was vital to delivering credible elections and expanding the voter base and voter turnout during elections.
General Education Director Open and Distance Learning Beatrice Moya called for more stakeholder participation in the initiative because this would help improve effectiveness of the messages.
The Commission in 2013 established a club in one province and later spread to all the 10 provinces with each area having four such groupings countrywide.
This involved conducting voter education in schools, involving learners in the fight against electoral malpractice and encouraging eligible pupils to participate in the electoral process while creating a pool of volunteer voter educators among young people.