Monday, 13 April 2015

OYV COMMENDS ECZ FOR COMMENCING VOTER REGISTRATION

27th March, 2015

THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION OF ZAMBIA (ECZ) AND THE VOTER REGISTRATION

The inevitability of the ECZ to commence the Voter Registration exercise to register the many young people that have come off age and other Zambians that could not register as voters in the past due to different factors cannot be overemphasized. A lot of young people in Zambia have attained the voting eligibility age of 18 years and they must be given their deserved right to participate in the electoral process through at least, casting their ballot. As an organization, we are alive to the fact that there is a prerequisite document if one is to be entered on the Voters’ Roll.

With the foregoing, Operation Young Vote is of the considered position that the Department of National Registration Births and Deaths must immediately embark on the mobile issuance of the National Registration Cards (NRCs) to the thousands of young people to facilitate their smooth registration as voters. There mustn’t be any excuse to leaving out any Zambian, on the Voters’ Roll, thereby disenfranchising them and infringing on their basic right to cast their vote, hence our well-timed call for the responsible institutions to begin moving on the ground.

OYV would also like to appeal to all political parties to desist from interfering and politicizing the voter registration exercise.

The institutions charged with the responsibility to deliver this very significant right of Zambians accessing documentation to vote and subsequently exercise their right to vote and elect leadership or offer themselves for leadership at any level, must be as objective and balanced as possible as they embark on this exercise especially when dealing with the provinces and other geographic demarcations. This for us is very important as it significantly impacts on the freeness and fairness and outcome of the election at the end of the day. OYV has a conviction that the 2016 Tripartite Elections are very important to the young people as they will give the young people a life time opportunity to determine and shape the destiny.   

 

Guess Nyirenda (Mr.)

Executive Director

No comments:

Post a Comment