Eu Eom En Zambia 2016
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FINAL REPORT REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA General Elections and Referendum 11 August 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 4 II. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 9 III. POLITICAL BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................... 10 IV. LEGAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................................................. 11 A. Universal and Regional Principles and Commitments ................................................................. 11 B. Electoral Legislation ...................................................................................................................... 11 C. The Electoral System .................................................................................................................... 12 V. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION .................................................................................................................. 13 A. Structure and Composition .......................................................................................................... 13 B. The Administration of Elections ................................................................................................... 14 C. Delimitation of Constituencies ..................................................................................................... 14 D. Voter Education ............................................................................................................................ 15 VI. VOTER REGISTER .................................................................................................................................. 16 A. The Right to Vote .......................................................................................................................... 16 B. Voter Registration ......................................................................................................................... 16 VII. REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES ............................................................... 17 A. Registration of Political Parties .................................................................................................... 17 B. Registration of Candidates ........................................................................................................... 18 VIII. ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND PRE-ELECTION ENVIRONMENT ......................................................... …19 A. Election Campaign ........................................................................................................................ 19 B. Use of State Resources ................................................................................................................. 20 C. Campaign Finance ......................................................................................................................... 21 IX. DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION ........................................................... 21 X. MEDIA AND ELECTIONS ..................................................................................................................... 22 A. Legal FrameWork ...................................................................................................................... 22 B. Media Environment ...................................................................................................................... 24 C. Electoral Coverage and EU EOM Media Monitoring ................................................................... 26 XI. PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN ................................................................................................................ 28 XII. PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ................................................................................................................ 28 XIII. ELECTORAL JUSTICE .......................................................................................................................... 29 A. Electoral Offences ......................................................................................................................... 29 B. Complaints and Appeals ............................................................................................................... 29 C. Election Petitions .......................................................................................................................... 31 XIV. ELECTION DAY AND POST-ELECTION PERIOD ..................................................................................... 32 A. Voting and Closing ........................................................................................................................ 32 B. Counting and Tabulation of Results ............................................................................................ 33 C. Announcement of Results ............................................................................................................ 34 D. Post-Election Environment .......................................................................................................... 36 XV. RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 39 Annex I: Table of Recommendations Annex II: EU EOM Media Monitoring Results Page 4 of 42 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • On 11 August 2016, the Republic of Zambia held its sixth general elections since the reintroduction of multi-party democracy in late 1990. Following an invitation from the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) was present in Zambia from 29 June to 12 September 2016. The Mission was led by Chief Observer Cécile Kyenge, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). In total, the EU EOM deployed across the country 124 observers from the 28 EU Member States, as well as from Norway and Canada, to assess the entire electoral process in accordance with international and regional commitments for genuine and transparent elections and the laws of Zambia. • Elections for president, parliament, mayors and council chairpersons, and local councillors, were held concurrent with a referendum on incorporating an amended bill of rights into the constitution. Following constitutional amendments earlier in 2016, to be elected president required an absolute majority of the votes. • President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who won the 2015 special election following the death in office of President Michael Sata, was the candidate of the Patriotic Front (PF). His principal challenger was Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND). There were seven other presidential candidates, of whom the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD)’s Edith Nawakwi was the only woman. • On 15 August, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) announced final presidential election results, declaring President Lungu president-elect. President Lungu received 1,860,877 votes, representing 50.35 per cent of the valid votes cast, narrowly surpassing the 50 per cent plus one requirement to be elected. UPND presidential candidate Hichilema received 1,760,347 votes, 47.63 per cent of the valid votes cast. The margin of victory was 100,530 votes. Other parties contesting the presidential election received a collective 74,486 votes, 2.02 per cent of the valid votes cast. • The prominence of and focus on the presidential contest largely overshadowed other electoral competitions and particularly the constitutional amendment referendum, for which the PF campaigned in favour, while the UPND campaigned against. The referendum failed to pass the required threshold. • Parliamentary and local elections were held on the basis of first past the post. Zambia’s unicameral parliament, the National Assembly, now comprises 156 elected seats, an increase of 6 seats from the parliament elected in 2011. There were 651 candidates for the National Assembly. • The legal framework for the 2016 general elections and referendum was substantially changed shortly before the elections. Extensive amendments were made to the constitution in January 2016; key electoral legislation only entered into force in June 2016, two months before election day. The rushed drafting process resulted in a number of unclear provisions, gaps, and contradictions between new legislation and the constitution. The late introduction of these revisions, contrary to best international practice, meant the legal framework was unfamiliar to many electoral stakeholders. • The legal framework provided a good basis for the conduct of genuine elections, and generally protected freedoms of assembly, movement, expression and association, in line with Zambia’s international and regional commitments. However, both the provisions and the application of the Public Order Act (POA) unreasonably restricted freedom of assembly, which was to the benefit of the incumbent party. Page 5 of 42 • The Electoral Commission of Zambia comprises five members. Under the ECZ Act, the president may remove members of the commission at any time and without cause.