Nawakwi wants ECZ disbanded

Edith Nawakwi

FDD leader Edith Nawakwi has demanded for the immediate disbandment of the country’s electoral board saying the ECZ has failed to run election in the country.

And Nawakwi has called on politicians to put their selfish interests aside as the country is bigger than any politician or political party in the country.

Speaking at a media briefing the opposition leader said the current political standoff was due to the ineptitude of the the ECZ.

She said Zambia has no government today because of the stubbornness and incompetence of the ECZ,

She demanded that all ECZ commissioners must step down and pave way for new people who can run the ECZ in a professional and efficient manner.

She said the current ECZ has failed to do its job of ensuring that elections are held in a free, credible and transparent manner.

Nawakwi, who came third in the disputed August 11 polls, described the electoral process as flawed and alleged that the voters register was compromised as it had too many errors and that it was belatedly distributed to stakeholders who had no time to audit it.

She added that with the current leadership at ECZ as well as the existing electoral laws and regulations which she said are ignored with impunity, it is wishful thinking that Zambia will have free,fair, credible elections no matter the outcome of the presidential petition.

And Nawakwi has called on the constitution Court to expedite the matter so that people can resume their normal lives.

Nawakwi who expressed disgust at the laissez faire attitude of people handling the case saying they are just interested in making money and are not interested in the lives being affected by standoff.

“While we fully appreciate the constitutional right of every citizen to seek legal redress when they are aggrieved, we appeal that national interest must prevail over personal ambitions. Zambia is bigger than any one of us politicians. In fact, Zambia is bigger than any political party,” she said.

She added that even if the elections were nullified it was a fallacy to expect a different result with the same referee (ECZ) officiating in the elections.

She described ECZ chairperson Justice Easu Chulu as “Diramba” (the infamous referee from Garbon who officiated in a 1994 World Cup qualifying match between Zambia and Morocco) who cannot be trusted to hold a free and fair as well as credible elections