ECZ ballot-marking contradiction sparks fresh integrity concerns

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is facing pointed questions over a contradiction in its own guidance on how voters should mark their ballots, after officials reportedly told political parties, journalists and voters that a tick is acceptable alongside the commission’s…

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is facing pointed questions over a contradiction in its own guidance on how voters should mark their ballots, after officials reportedly told political parties, journalists and voters that a tick is acceptable alongside the commission’s long-standing public instruction that the correct mark is an “X”. The discrepancy has emerged just a day before the country votes, against a backdrop of public allegations concerning pre-marked ballot papers.

Governance analyst Kanyanta Chanda Kapwepwe, writing in The Mast, said the commission’s current public voter education material states plainly that the correct mark is an X, and that this is the message Zambians have been officially given throughout the campaign. Yet ECZ officials are now said to be telling stakeholders that a tick, provided it remains within the box, will also be accepted.

“Yet ECZ officials are now telling political parties, journalists and voters that a tick is also acceptable provided it remains within the box. This creates an obvious and deeply troubling contradiction,” Kapwepwe wrote. The recent actions have raised further integrity concerns about the ECZ.

The concern has been sharpened by circulating public allegations that additional ballot papers were printed in Tanzania with the intention of benefiting the incumbent government, and that people hired to pre-mark those papers were allegedly given incorrect instructions on which symbol to use, resulting in ballots marked with a tick rather than an X. Tanzania’s own ballots use a tick. The allegation goes further, claiming that because it was too late to order fresh ballots once the error was discovered, the commission subsequently allowed the tick as an acceptable mark to avoid discarding the disputed papers.

Kapwepwe was careful to describe these as serious but unverified claims. “These are not trivial allegations. These are serious allegations touching the very foundation of the electoral process and bordering on electoral integrity. They demand answers from ECZ, not silence, ambiguity or contradictory instructions,” he wrote.

He argued that if no pre-marked ballots exist, the commission should have nothing to fear from issuing a clear, unequivocal clarification. If the allegations are false, he said, ECZ can and should decisively put them to rest. But if irregularities are present, he said Zambians have a right to know before entering polling stations tomorrow.

The piece calls on the commission to issue an immediate written statement matching its existing public voter-education message, warning against any scenario in which presiding officers apply inconsistent standards from one polling station to another.

“There must be no situation in which one presiding officer accepts a tick while another rejects it, or where voters in one polling station are subjected to a different standard from voters elsewhere,” Kapwepwe wrote, adding that any clarification must be published before polling begins rather than left to individual officers to interpret on the day.

This is not the only anxiety around process integrity to surface in the campaign’s closing days. Independent presidential candidate Given Katuta separately urged Zambians to guard their votes jealously, saying the electorate should not hand ballots to ECZ and walk away, arguing this creates room for what she described as underhand methods at polling stations and tallying centres.

“The electorate must not hand over ballots to the Electoral Commission of Zambia and walk away, as doing so will create room for underhand methods at polling stations and tallying centres. ECZ, in its current form, cannot conduct free and fair elections because of interference from government,” Katuta said.

Tonse-PF Pamodzi Alliance running mate Makebi Zulu made a related point, saying protecting a vote does not end with casting it, and that protection must begin at community level where people are able to vote freely without intimidation or coercion. Socialist Party national campaign manager Bob Sichinga urged all SP candidates, members and polling agents to remain vigilant throughout the process, warning that “anything is possible” once counting and transmission of results begin.

Not every party voice struck a suspicious tone. UPND media director Mark Simuuwe said his party would protect its vote in a peaceful manner consistent with what he described as the party’s hallmark approach throughout the campaign.

ECZ has not yet issued a formal public response to the marking-instruction contradiction as flagged in Kapwepwe’s analysis. With polling stations opening at 06:00 hours tomorrow and closing at 18:00 hours, the window for the commission to clarify its position before voters begin casting ballots is narrowing.