Establish centres in churches, ECZ told

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) should extend mobile voter registration to all places of worship if the country is to attain the projected nine million voters, Bishops Council of Zambia (BCZ) has advised.

BCZ general secretary Abel Kaela said in an interview that the remaining two weeks would be crucial in ensuring that the projected number of voters was met.

“We are told that in the first two weeks, the ECZ has only managed to record less than three million voters meaning without a proper strategy in place, we should forget about attaining the projected nine million voters,” he said.

Bishop Kaela said places of worship were ideal for voter registration considering that almost every Zambian belongs to a certain denomination.

He said the church was concerned that many Zambians had not registered as voters adding taking part in voting was the only way citizens could get involved in the governance system of the country.

“As a church, we concerned by the low interest from citizens to register as voter, our appeal to conscience of our members is that let’s all register so that we can take part in the governance of our nation through taking part in voting in next year’s general election,” the Bishop said.

Bishop Kaela called on the ECZ to extend the voter’s registration period.

Meanwhile, Bishop Kaela has called for violence-free campaigns ahead of the 2021 general election.

He said the church was concerned about the low outcome in the voter registration and was ready to provide solutions.

“The voters’ registration is low and as a church we are ready to provide solutions that will result in the country to attain its objections in terms of voter registration,” he said.