The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has strongly condemned claims circulating on the Patriotic Front Facebook page indicating that the Commission or its Chairperson, Mwangala Zaloumis, is plotting to ban, sanction or disqualify Presidential Candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu.
ECZ Chief Electoral Officer, Brown Kasaro states that the allegations are false, reckless and deliberately misleading, stressing that they are complete fabrications and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.
In a statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka last evening, Mr Kasaro reminded the public that the ECZ Chairperson, acting as Returning Officer for Presidential Election, officially declared Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu as duly nominated Presidential Candidate and Running Mate respectively, in accordance with the Constitution and electoral laws of Zambia in the just ended nomination process.
“It is therefore dishonest and irresponsible for anyone to manufacture stories suggesting that the same Commission is secretly seeking grounds to reverse that lawful process,” he said.
Mr Kasaro emphasised that at no point has Mrs Zaloumis directed any action or sanction against the said candidates as falsely alleged.
“The claims attributed to the Chairperson regarding church services, funeral gatherings and supposed campaign violations are entirely fictitious and have never been issued by the ECZ,” he added.
Mr Kasaro indicated that the Commission is deeply concerned with the growing tendency by certain political actors to abuse social media platforms to spread outright lies aimed at misleading the public, undermining confidence in the electoral process and dragging independent constitutional institutions into partisan propaganda.
He has warned that the Electoral Commission of Zambia will not allow its name, integrity and constitutional mandate to be abused by individuals seeking political mileage through falsehoods and manufactured controversy.
Mr Kasaro has since urged members of the public to ignore the fake claims and rely only on official statements issued through verified ECZ communication platforms.
