29 September 2008
The Foundation for Democratic Process (Fodep) has embarked on the voters' education in order dispel the misconception behind the forth-coming presidential election and fight voter apathy.
Fodep acting national secretary Derrick Elemu said the training of trainers (TOT) programme was meant to equip the trainers with skills that would enable them train others on the electoral process.
Mr Elemu made the remarks when he officially opened a workshop for trainers from eight districts at Sunset Lodge in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Elemu said Zambia had not experienced such a presidential by-election hence the need to educate the masses especially in rural areas on the need to take part.
He said Fodep had noted that people had in the past shunned voting, a trend he said was not good for democracy.
He said during the voters' education campaigns, Fodep was encouraging citizens to appreciate their right to vote.
Mr Elemu appealed to all the political parties participating in the presidential election to engage in issue-based campaigns.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has urged all media institutions to abide by the Electoral Act in order to avoid distortion of information to the general public in the forthcoming presidential election on October 30.
ECZ public relations officer, Wezzy Chomba said in Lusaka yesterday that journalists needed to be knowledgeable on the Electoral Code of Conduct to enable them report within the prescribed rules.
Mr Chomba was speaking at a one-day ECZ sponsored training workshop for the media personnel in readiness for the forthcoming presidential election.
He called on all media houses to report election news in an accurate manner and not publish any abusive editorial comments that would cause anarchy among the political parties.
"This seminar is very important for you journalists because we are here to educate you on how you must report to the general public concerning the forthcoming October 30th elections.
"If you just report without sticking to the Electoral Act, you may end up giving false information which at the end of the day might cause differences, something that could be avoided," Mr Chomba said
Mr Chomba urged journalists to conduct interviews with candidates with fairness both in the style of the interview and in the amount of the time given.
He, however, said although ECZ was faced with challenges in the last elections, the commission would try its best to ensure that ballot papers reached all polling stations in time.
Lusaka provincial election officer Francis Ndhlovu called on all citizens to be observant and report any case of corruption from among the political parties.
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