Zambia Media Critique

On 8 th October 2020 Zambia’s Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano collapsed whilst addressing a meeting of political party presidents. This was probably the biggest assignment he had handled since his appointment to lead the Commission. He was probably fatigued due to the many hours of stressful preparations he had to go through prior to the assignment. The firs thought that came to my mind was how we have not paid attention to the stress and anxiety that comes with elections as a country. The elections stress the Republican President as he has to manage so many interests and make so many critical decision amidst pressure from local and international factors. Elections stress the candidates at all levels because participating in elections comes with a huge financial burden. The process itself for many politicians started many months ago as they have to lay the groundwork for primary adoptions and manage the intra-party politics and competition. I have personal friends cont...

ZAMBIA faces unique challenges as the country goes to yet another tightly contested and heavily polarizing presidential, parliamentary and local government election. The elections come on the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic which has not only affected the way the elections will be conducted but also presents an election campaign issue in itself. President Edgar Lungu is seeking to be elected Zambian President for the third time amidst a debt crisis and an economy in near recession after his bid for a third term was upheld by the country’s Constitutional Court. However one Constitutional Court Judge Professor Margaret Munalula offered a dissenting judgment in which she argued that the 19 month period President Edgar Lungu spent in office between January 2015 and September 2016 constituted a full term of office. She adds that President Lungu has therefore twice held office and is ineligible to run for office in the forthcoming presidential election. However the majority decision ...