UPND acts to stop online voter registration
OPPOSITION UPND have filed an application in the Lusaka High Court for leave to commerce judicial review to stop the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) from conducting online voter registration.
And they want an order to quash the decision by ECZ to give a 30 days cut off time for the voter registration exercise scheduled for
October 18, 2020.
Ms Gertrude Imenda suing in her capacity as UPND deputy secretary general has cited ECZ and the Attorney General as respondents in the matter.
In an application for leave to commence judicial review, UPND submitted that the decision to launch and host the online voter registration is illegal as it is not anchored or authorised by any law.
Ms Imenda stated that ECZ did not consider that the cut off period of 30 days will either cause "panic registration" reaction in the minds of the citizens in order to meet the deadline that will result in congestion at the designated registration stations and a resultant surge in Covid-19 cases. She said in the alternative, the public will react with apathy to the process of registration to protect themselves from getting infected with Covid-19 which will result in low turnout of eligible voters at the registration.
Mmenda stated that commencing voter registration will advantage the incumbent regime (PF government) which has in the recent past channeled more resources for the issuance of National Registration Cards (NRCs) in their "perceived" strongholds at the expense of other regions or provinces of the country such as Western, North Western, Central and Southern Provinces.
She also stated that leave for judicial review must operate as a stay of the decision of ECZ to continue hosting and conduct online voter registration.
The applicant further stated the party wanted it to operate as a stay of the decision of ECZ to enforce questionable decision of the 30 days cut off period and discard the existing voter register under Order 53 Rule 3 of the Rules of the Supreme Court, 1999 edition until after the determination of the application so that it is not rendered an academic exercise.