IT’S A SHAM – Archbishop Chama

IT’S A SHAM

…Voter registration won’t deliver results – Archbishop

 By George Zulu

THE ongoing voter registration exercise is a sham which will not yield the intended results of capturing over three million new voters ahead of next year’s general elections, Archdiocese of Kasama Archbishop Ignatius Chama has said.

Speaking on his weekly radio programme ‘Ishiwi lyakwa Kacema’, broadcast on Radio Lutanda every Wednesday, Archbishop Chama said the exercise was discouraging people.

“We are concerned over the ongoing voter registration exercise in Zambia. It is clear the way things are moving now, only a minuscule proportion of eligible citizens will participate in next year’s general elections,” Archbishop Chama said.

He said it was concerning that only a few people would participate in next year’s general elections as a result of low numbers of people registered as a result of various challenges.

Archbishop Chama said ramifications were plain: only a small number of Zambians would cast ballots in the 2026 general elections.

Archbishop Chama said the survey conducted so far by his office within the Archdiocese of Kasama had revealed only a small proportion of eligible citizens would participate in next year’s general elections.

Archbishop Chama said bureaucratic hurdles had effectively disenfranchised many Zambians, depriving them of their fundamental right to engage in the nation’s governance through the ballot box.

“When I enquired how many had completed their registration, merely a handful raised their hands, notwithstanding the substantial numbers of eligible individuals present,” he said.

Archbishop Chama said what was troubling was the failure by government to station officers from the Department of Citizenship to issue national registration cards (NRCs) to eligible voters.

“Particularly among the youth, we uncovered a recurrent grievance, the absence of national registration cards (NRCs), an essential prerequisite for voter enrolment,” he said.

Archbishop Chama said even if the extension was granted, there was no guarantee that many people would register because of the farming season.

Last week, Chief Mwamba of the Bemba people condemned what he described as selective issuance of NRCs and voters cards with a bias in favour of Southern Province.