Aiming for a free and fair election

Zambians go to the polls in September in the first test of a new law designed to promote a fair ballot and ease the tensions that boil over at every election. The new electoral act bans the use of public money for campaigning by the ruling party, and forbids unbalanced coverage by the state-owned media - two issues seized on by international observers who condemned the last general elections, held in 2001. The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has also introduced new cards for voters and transparent ballot boxes. "The usage of new voters' cards will lessen cases of cheating, while transparent ballot boxes will build confidence of the voters and contribute significantly to upholding the people's right to choose leaders of their own choice, unlike in the previous elections," noted ECZ chair Ireen Mambilima. While the new measures have been generally applauded, human rights groups and some opposition parties say they do not go far enough to guarantee a free and fair election. "We shall still see violations of the people's right to assemble, right to associate, right to speech and, ultimately, the right to choice because of the [existing] public order act, which has not been amended," said Lee Habasonda, executive director of the regional human rights watchdog, Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes. The public order act requires police permission for meetings and rallies. Opposition parties routinely accuse the police of discrimination in awarding the permits, a point conceded by the new police inspector-general, Ephraim Mateyo. "I must admit that, as police, we have been interpreting the public order act, especially during elections, to mean it has to favour the ruling party," said Mateyo. "But I will be decentralising the granting of permits to the level of officer-in-charge at every police station - I will not have to personally sign or approve all permits, as has been the case." Zambian elections have historically been fractious and violent affairs, with loud accusations of vote-buying made by all parties. In the 2001 ballot, President Levy Mwanawasa scraped into office just one percentage point ahead of his closest rival; the opposition immediately contested the result in the Supreme Court. Neo Simutanyi, a senior political science lecturer at the University of Zambia, said the 2006 elections were likely to be just as controversial. "There is too much tribal and regional politicking ... and violence might erupt both before and after elections," he told IRIN. Zambian parties are largely regional organisations. The biggest opposition movement, the United Party for National Development, has its main support base in the southern region, while the Forum for Democracy and Development, as well as the United National Independence Party, share political roots in the east of the country. The opposition Patriotic Front is strong in the north and the Copperbelt Province, while the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy is expected to take the capital, Lusaka, and central Zambia. "There is no guarantee that the [election] results will be accepted if some people feel they get less than what they deserved from their regions," said Simutanyi. According to Sam Kasankha, of the quasi-governmental Permanent Human Right Commission, "People at the grassroots level still don't understand that difference in political opinions is not enmity, and this is why even this year we may see many cases of violence. But the situation is still manageable if all political parties and their cadres [supporters] can observe the guidelines in the electoral act and the code of conduct." nm/oa/he