By IREEN MULENGA
Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) President Sean Tembo has called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to refund the K95,000 to the four presidential candidates whose nominations were not successful.
Mr Tembo said that ECZ structured its nomination process upside down by collecting a payment before verifying that a candidate has satisfied the other requirements.
He said the standard operating procedure for any decent organization is to confirm that a customer has satisfied all the other requirements before collecting a payment from them.
“Under the circumstances, any refusal or reluctance by the Electoral Commission of Zambia to refund the four unsuccessful presidential candidates will amount to extortion. There is no basis whatsoever, whether legal, moral or otherwise, why the Commission should keep money paid by unsuccessful presidential candidates,” he said.
Mr Tembo said the refusal to refund unsuccessful presidential candidates will seriously undermine the standing of the Commission in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public.
He said the core business of the Commission is not revenue maximization but fair and impartial adjudication of the electoral process.
Mr Tembo said ECZ has historically been averse to any advice coming from key stakeholders because they mistaken rigidity for integrity.
He has appealed to the Commission to take action on the matter.
