ELECTIONS AND MENTAL HEALTH

On 8th 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 contesting at the level of the Presidential candidate and aware of the toll the process had on their mental health. The primary responsibility of mobilising resources for political parties in Zambia rests on the Party President. This is a significant stress factor. Party presidents especially in the opposition parties were having solid structures is a challenge often have to personally coordinate the mobilisation of supporters from across the country and managing party organs and structures.

With politics comes betrayal, this too presents a challenge for mental health. Many politicians undergo betrayal from some people they thought were loyal. UPND President Hakainde Hichilema has probably suffered the most in this area with people he worked so closely with often leaving the party at crucial times of elections. He however seems to have mastered the art of letting go and pushing ahead.

A story broke in 2016 of candidate who sold his house to enable him afford to run his campaign and after losing the elections he went into severe depression as he could no longer look after his family as everything around him collapsed in his face.

For newly adopted candidates the financial burden to finance their campaigns is very huge. Unlike their colleagues who are seeking re-election coming to campaign after receiving their gratuity from parliament, the new comers have to sale assets, borrow from banks and friends to bankroll their campaigns.

Even civil society where I work is a victim of stress. Many of us in human rights activism work have to manage complex deadlines, trainings schedules, mobilise finances for our work and accommodate the media in between. Our families suffer because we have to stay away from our families for a long time. Everyone is stressed!

Who is paying attention to the mental health issues that are triggered by elections? Where is the support system? Do political party campaign centres recruit people with expertise in counselling and trauma management? How will candidates receive the outcome of the election, especially those who have been waiting to win for many years now?

Zambia enacted a Mental Health Act in 2019 which seeks to promote mental health support services at community level. We need to move fast to establish the Mental Health Council perhaps it would have helped to support electoral players including staff at the Electoral Commission of Zambia with mental health interventions.

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