By Staff Writer
GEARS Initiative has condemned the disruptive conduct and behaviour of some stakeholders in Lusaka Urban and at all totaling centers across the country during the post-election verification and reconciliation process going.
GEARS Executive Director MacDonald Chipenzi said the disruptive behaviour and conduct which saw the harassment and intimidation of the poll staff by some contestants was uncalled for and an exhibition of unruly cadre behaviour which the new government has pledged to end forthwith.
Mr Chipenzi said the aggrieved stakeholders must know that such a process is a normal post election activity that is done and carried out by every electoral body after any election before the electoral materials are surrendered for safe-keeping to the Commission.
He said the Commission does this process transparently as it invites the presence of all stakeholders such as monitoring organisations, political parties and or candidates’ agents to witness the process.
Mr Chipenzi said GEARS Initiative has been attending such processes in many districts and has not observed any sinister or ulterior motive by the ECZ to alter election result figures for any candidate.
“It is in this regard that GEARS Initiative counsels those aggrieved to attend these processes going on across the country and acquaint themselves to them to avoid raising unnecessary discontent in the electoral process which may send negative aspersions on the ECZ,”he said.
Mr Chipenzi said GEARS Initiative believes that such a process is not in anyway meant to change result figures which figures were pasted on the doors of all polling stations and totaling centres and were gotten by all interested stakeholders.
He said GEARS Initiative calls for orderly participation and exercises of calmness and restraint by all interested stakeholders in this process and channel or presents all their emotions, grievances and suspicions to the courts through their petitions already lodged.
Mr Chipenzi said destroying these materials does not only have potential to undermine their efforts to seek electoral justice through their petitions but is also a criminal act.
