ECZ denies cooking up, juggling voter numbers
By Tony Nkhoma
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) says it does not “hide” figures or intend to manipulate voter data in the wake is serious discrepancies some stakeholders have detected in the number of registered voters on the final roll.
Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro was responding to New Heritage Party Chisahala Kateka’s concerns of ‘discrepancies’ in the figures.
Kasaro said the alleged discrepancy citing the difference between 7,073,513 and 8,861,918 did not represent “excess” or unexplained voters.
“This figure comprises voters that registered prior to the 2021 general election and voters that registered during the continuous registration of voters up to February, 2024. This register remains the legally certified register until a new register is certified,” he said.
Kasaro said it was only after the completion of these processes that ECZ would certify and announce the final Register of Voters to be used for the 2026 general election.
“The commission will, as required by law, publicly announce the final and certified Register of Voters once all statutory processes have been concluded. Stakeholders will continue to be engaged throughout this process,” he said.
Kateka on Saturday expressed worry alleging discrepancies between the announced and “actual” figures of registered voters by the ECZ.
But Kasaro said the 1,788,405 reflected the distinction between a previously certified register and a new provisional register arising from the recent nationwide mass registration exercise.
The Provisional Register of Voters therefore consists of the 7,073,513 voters on the certified register and the 1,788,405 new voters giving the total of 8,861,918 voters. This provisional figure is not final and is subject to several mandatory post-registration processes,” he said
Kasaro said the figure of 7,073,513 voters referred to the number of voters on the current certified Register of Voters.
