Zambia needs an electoral complaints authority

I wish to request all the participants in the plenary session of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to seriously consider the prospect of making a recommendation for the establishment of an 'Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia', to be included among the commissions or institutions recommended in the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) Draft Constitution.

The 'Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia' should assume the functions of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) stipulated in Clauses 6 through 8 of Article 112 of the Draft Constitution. These functions could be designated as a separate Article, and could be amended and paraphrased as follows:

(1) The 'Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia' shall consider and determine all issues and matters of malpractices relating to the ECZ and/or its officers occurring before, during and after elections or referenda.

(2) It shall also determine all electoral disputes and issues of malpractices, occurring before or during an election, within 24 hours of receiving a complaint with regard to the dispute or malpractice and shall have the discretion to make an order –

(a) Prohibiting a person or political party from doing any act proscribed by or under an Act of Parliament

(b) Excluding a person or any agent of a person or any candidate or agent of a political party from entering a polling station

(c) Reducing or increasing the number of votes cast in favour of a candidate after a recount

(d) Disqualifying the candidature of any person

(e) That the votes cast at a particular polling station do not tally in whole or in part

(f) For filing a complaint and making a report to a court or tribunal handling any electoral petition

(g) Cancelling an election or election result and calling a fresh election, where the electoral malpractice is of a nature that would affect the final electoral results.

(3) A decision of the 'Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia' on any matter referred to in Clause (2) shall be final only for the purpose of proceeding with the elections.

(4) Any complaints connected to an election that shall be raised after an election shall be dealt with under an election petition by an electoral tribunal.

Articles 113 through 116 of the Mung’omba Draft Constitution could be amended to incorporate the 'Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia', except Article 113(3)(b), which, for the purposes of the suggested authority, could read as follows: 'forwarding the names of the short-listed candidates for appointment to a "Committee on Elections" for ratification' (which would need to be created to expand the number of portfolio committees of parliament).

So, in making the appointments of the members of the ECZ, the Appointments Committee (recommended by the CRC) shall forward the names of short-listed candidates for appointment to the president for ratification or confirmation. On the other hand, the Appointments Committee shall forward the names of short-listed candidates for appointment to the 'Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia' to a 'Committee on Elections' for ratification or confirmation.

There is a need for a separate governmental watchdog designed to monitor the activities of officers of the ECZ, and the conduct of elections in the country. This will hopefully lessen the vulnerability of the ECZ and the electoral process to the influences, manipulation and/or machinations of unscrupulous politicians and political parties.

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