Back off, PRISCCA tells UPND

UPND should back off with its retrogressive suggestions that the prison vote should be deferred until all stakeholders are satisfied on how it will be done because this is a constitutional matter and not a political debate, the Prisons Care and Counselling Association (PRISCCA) has said.

PRISCCA executive director, Dr Godfrey Malembeka wondered why the UPND have u-turned on their earlier position on the ruling from the Constitutional Court on the matter which they had fully embraced.

Dr. Malembeka said in an interview that all the political parties including the UPND accepted the ruling of the Constitutional Court and their only concern was how it would be done, a matter the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) was addressing. He said the inmates should be allowed to vote in the 2021 general elections in line with the court ruling because as human beings they too have the right to elect leaders of their choice through the ballot.

Dr. Malembeka said the right to vote of the inmates has been de-franchised since independence, therefore backward suggestions on the matter were not welcome although people are entitled to their opinion.

Dr. Malembeka clarified the ECZ earlier statement that the prison vote might be restricted to a Presidential vote was not its final outcome but a suggestion because the collective agreement on the voting process was not yet reached.He said the technical working committee selected to collect data on how the voting process would be done had taken a neutral stance and are not interested in inmates voting for a certain political party but in ensuring that their right to vote is exercised.

Dr. Malembeka said the Constitutional Court ruling on the prison vote should not be delayed merely because certain political parties are not satisfied on how it would be done because even in the next election they would be saying the same thing.