EU to provide election funds

The European Union (EU) is to provide US$ 5.26 million to assist Zambia during the national elections scheduled for the last quarter of 2001, PANA reported on Tuesday. According to an agreement signed on Monday in the capital Lusaka, the assistance would go to the Electoral Commission of Zambia and into the production of national registration cards. “The forthcoming elections are of special importance since the president (Frederick Chiluba) is due to retire at the end of his constitutionally defined terms of office,” the EU representative in Zambia, Jochem Krebbs, said. “The assistance is intended to contribute to an environment which results in elections that reflect the political will of the people through the increased involvement of voters, the promotion of confidence in the electoral process and more equitable participation,” he added. Meanwhile, Zambian vice-president Christon Tembo has suggested that member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) pool their resources and harmonise the various electoral systems. Speaking at the opening of the SADC Electoral Commissions Forum, he called on electoral commissions within member states to deliberately encourage the population to participate in their respective electoral process. He challenged the forum to educate the people in the region on the need to exercise their constitutional right to register and vote.