As Zambia waits for the final tally of presidential votes, the Commonwealth Observer Mission has commended authorities for holding peaceful elections.
The group however expressed concern about the number of votes conducted. On Thursday, Zambia held five votes, including presidential, parliamentary, local elections as well as a constitutional referendum to expand the bill of rights.
Chairperson of Commonwealth Observer Mission former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete says, “It appears that the civic education on the referendum which commenced rather late, following the passage of bills in parliament on May in 2016 was inadequate.”
“Observers came across a disturbing number of voters shunned the referendum ballot, refusing to collect it, either due to lack of understanding or owing to politicization of this ballot.”
“The inclusion of this ballot together with four others meant it did not receive the due attention.”
Meanwhile, the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) says the Zambian polls have met the international, regional and local standards for credible elections. SABC