. Schultz

WITH the presidential election in just 35 days, the political scene has drawn the attention of many, locally and internationally, all waiting to see what will happen after January 20, 2015. Focus is on who takes over management of national affairs.
International partners have provided finances to the process, to ensure that Zambia maintains its record of holding free and fair elections.
The United States of America (USA) and Japan have respectively provided resource envelopes of US$1.6 million and $642,000 in the course of the week, towards the hosting of the presidential election by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
This new funding is aside the K128 million the Zambian Government has set aside for the same purpose, as announced by the Ministry of Finance through the Secretary to the Treasury’s office. The total budget is K344 million.
The gesture by the US and Japan is highly commendable, and shows the two countries’ commitment to ensure a peaceful transition of power following the demise of President Michael Sata in October.
US ambassador to Zambia Eric Schlutz said his country was keen to see Zambia hold free and fair elections as had been the case in previous polls.
His Japanese counterpart, Kiyoshi Koinuma said the grant provided by his country was meant for the procurement of materials for the election, including handbooks, forms, election acts and directional posters.
As events continue to unfold on the political campaign platform, voters, who are the recipients of various messages from aspiring candidates, need to seriously reflect on and digest these messages to ensure they vote for a leader of their choice.
Hence voter education is cardinal, and the ECZ and other electoral players should spearhead this guiding principle ahead of voting day.
Financing for the campaigns entails a fair share of voter education as noted by the Japanese envoy. As such voter education can make a major contribution to electoral integrity.
Voter education programmes should have balanced and objective information on what citizens need to know in order to exercise their right to vote. It provides information on voters’ rights and obligations in the electoral process and explains the importance of voting.
Ensuring a democratic culture is an essential building block in promoting and protecting free and fair elections.
Voters need to understand their rights and duties as enshrined in the Constitution and the electoral law, so that they can meet their obligations in a responsible manner.
Well-informed voters can help safeguard the electoral integrity as opposed to false statements. Without sufficient education, it can be hard to eliminate abuses such as vote-buying or intimidation, especially in countries with high unemployment and low incomes.
Voters may not be aware of their rights or the mechanisms used to protect the secrecy of their vote, or what motivates politicians and their supporters to attempt to buy votes.
That is why a good voter education programme is important for voters to know about their rights, how to exercise them and the way the electoral system works.
And this needs to be a continuous exercise, for it is worth noting that the election process does not start and end on the day of voting.
It covers the whole period of campaigning prior to the actual voting day.