Opposition cries foul over voters' cards

Zambia's opposition has called for a halt to a just-begun voter registration campaign, arguing that alleged flaws in voters' cards could lead to rigging in next year's elections. Anderson Mazoka, interim leader of an alliance of six opposition parties, has urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to correct the alleged anomalies before continuing with the scheduled 21-day registration exercise begun on 31 October. "The voters' cards being issued do not have our national identity number, it is simply laminated and we have proven that it can be easily opened and the picture inside replaced. There is also a computer barcode that will be useless in several parts of rural Zambia that do not have electricity," said Mazoka. But ECZ executive director Danny Kalale said opposition leaders had nothing to fear, as their concerns had been considered ahead of the voter registration exercise. "We have three security features on those cards ... the computer code; a thumb print and picture; and the national registration card number, which goes straight into the computer. When a voter comes, these shall be counter-checked and where they don't match, the bearer will be disqualified completely and possibly arrested," Kalale told IRIN. Mazoka countered: "The electoral commission has still not been able to answer how they will make security checks in rural Zambia, and we all know that it's in the rural areas that votes are rigged. As far as we are concerned, these elections are already rigged unless the anomalies are rectified." In an effort to resolve the problem, Mazoka met Home Affairs Minister Kalombo Mwansa on Wednesday to make the alliance's concerns official. "The minister has told us that they will address all our complaints, which I think is good. They have also asked us to put the complaints in writing and then they will get back to us, and I must say that I feel confident that they will do everything in their power to avoid suspicions, because we do not want a repeat of 2001," Mazoka told IRIN after the meeting. Three opposition parties, including the Mazoka-led United Party for National Development (UPND), petitioned the Supreme Court after the ECZ declared President Levy Mwanawasa the winner of controversial elections in 2001, with just 28 percent of the vote. The poll result was regarded as flawed by the Atlanta-based Carter Center, European Union monitors, and two domestic observer groups - Coalition 2001 and the Foundation for a Democratic Process. The UPND leader said the alliance was currently hearing accounts of ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy cadres allegedly being involved in the illegal registration of voters in private homes, and had passed the details on to the police. The opposition, civil society and church groups have vowed they will not allow a recurrence of the vote rigging that marred the 2001 election. Mwanawasa, seen abroad as a tough opponent of corruption, is facing a difficult fight at home in his second-term campaign. Ahead of the 2006 poll, civil society groups are lobbying the government for a new constitution that will dilute presidential powers, and the insertion of a clause requiring presidential candidates to gain more than 50 percent of the vote to take office.