. Banda
By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has charged that the Patriotic Front is planning to rig the January 20, 2015 Presidential Election.
But the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has dismissed the assertion as baseless because each political party, including the UPND, had a representative in South Africa where the ballot papers were being printed.
Even as the ballot papers are being delivered to various districts, political party representatives will be there.
“There are representatives at every stage because the process is very transparent, so I don’t know what Dr Banda is talking about,” Mr Akufuna said.
UPND vice-president for politics Canisius Banda said at a press briefing yesterday that the party had information that a group of people intended to intercept, modify and retransmit election results as they were moving through the ECZ electronic transfer of results.
The party had information that the ECZ would supply UPND strongholds with insufficient ballot papers to deny some citizens their right to vote.
“For example, if Hakainde Hichilema gets 20,000 votes from a polling station, the interceptors will intercept the electronic results transfer system, modify the 20,000 so that it becomes 2,000 and retransmit it as 2,000,” he said.
He alleged that PF cadres intended to besiege polling stations and drive out other party representatives.
But Mr Akufuna in an interview said the ECZ was committed to delivering a fair election through a transparent process.
Mr Akufuna said each political party including the UPND had a representative in South Africa where the ballot papers were being printed.
He said the UPND was making the allegations just to tarnish the image of the Commission and yet the ECZ remained accountable to the Zambian people.
On the presidential debate that failed to take place on Tuesday evening, Dr Banda said UPND president Hakainde Hichilema would not go for a debate where PF president Edgar Lungu was not present because he wanted to challenge Mr Lungu on various issues including his health.
