ECZ denies recount claim, clarifies Gen 20 forms

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has denied that a recount took place when vote counting resumed after Friday’s suspension, and clarified the distinction between two results documents at the centre of stakeholder confusion, as an NRPUP representative separately defended the…

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has denied that a recount took place when vote counting resumed after Friday’s suspension, and clarified the distinction between two results documents at the centre of stakeholder confusion, as an NRPUP representative separately defended the legality of the party’s parallel voter tabulation.

Addressing questions carried over from earlier in the briefing at the National Election Results Centre, the Commission’s Chief Electoral Officer set out how presidential results move from polling station to national announcement. The polling station document, known as Gen 20, is completed entirely by hand by the presiding officer, recording the names of candidates and the votes each obtained. A second, computer-generated document, Gen 20B, bearing the Commission’s logo, is produced at constituency tallying centres once those figures are captured into the results management system.

“It is that form, the computer printed out form, that bears the ECZ logo, that is used by the returning officer at the constituency to announce the results of the presidential election,” she said, adding that returning officers announce rather than declare results at that stage.

On concerns that counting had resumed as a recount rather than a continuation, the officer was direct. “There is no recount. There is a procedure in the law for a request for a recount,” she said, adding that the Commission had not received any report of a presiding officer submitting such a request at any polling station. She confirmed that monitors and observers, alongside Commission staff, resumed their roles once the suspension was lifted, and that stations which had already completed counting proceeded directly to transmitting results to constituency tallying centres.

On a separate matter raised earlier, an alleged detention of an NGOCC official, the officer said the Commission was hearing the specific details for the first time and could not comment further, though she noted that the use of electronic devices is prohibited inside polling stations. A polling procedure issue at the University of Zambia would be addressed when Roma constituency results are formally announced, she said, citing an initial report indicating that procedure had been followed there.

On the deployment of military and other security agencies alongside police, the officer said this was not unprecedented, pointing to their presence during the 2021 general election’s results announcement at the same centre. All deployments followed established protocols, she said, and security personnel remain outside polling stations and public centres, tasked with maintaining order rather than participating directly in the process.

NRPUP representative Kasonde Mwenda told the briefing the party had experienced considerable harassment during the process and pressed the Commission on the legal standing of its parallel voter tabulation, referencing an earlier statement by the Chief Electoral Officer confirming that results announced by presiding officers at polling station level are legitimate and may be shared publicly. “He said, those that are declared by the retaining officer are legitimate, they can be relied on, and they can be shared,” Mwenda said, arguing that using such figures to compile the party’s own vote tally did not constitute an offence, even though only the Commission holds authority to declare an overall winner. “We are not saying you have no consequence. You have consequence. But don’t criminalise even what is in the ambit of the law,” he added, also raising concern over party members he described as missing, alongside accredited members he said were currently incarcerated, and asked the Commission to take a direct interest in their circumstances.

The exchange drew a sharp response from Ezra Ngulube, identifying himself as secretary of a council within the UPND Alliance, who accused certain stakeholders of attempting to alarm and confuse the public and urged the Commission to prioritise announcing results over continuing to entertain what he characterised as disruptive questioning. “Can you focus on the announcement of the elections? This is what we are hearing. I think it is not fair,” Ngulube said.

The briefing’s moderator closed the session shortly afterward, thanking stakeholders for their engagement and confirming that two further results announcements remained scheduled for the day, at 13:00 hours and 20:00 hours.