Electoral System
317.
The Electoral Act, Chapter 13, makes provision relating to elections to the
office of the President and National Assembly; empowering the Electoral
Commission to make regulations providing for the registration of voters
and for the manner of conducting elections.
318.
In exercising the right to vote, Section 8 of the Electoral Act provides that
elections to the office of President shall be held in every constituency in
Zambia. Although not explicitly stated in the Act, elections to the National
Assembly are also held in every constituency.
319.
According to Section 17 (2) of the Electoral Act the Electoral Commission
is empowered to do the following:
“(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
(l)
(m)
(n)
(o)
the division of constituencies into polling districts;
the establishment of polling stations in polling districts;
the registration of voters;
the preparation of, and the form of, registers to be used in the
registration of voters;
the manner of ascertaining whether persons applying for registration as
voters are qualified for registration or for their inclusion in a register for
a particular constituency;
the making and determination of appeals, claims and objections with
respect to the registration of voters;
the correction, amendment and certification of registers of voters;
the circumstances in which the name of any person may be deleted from
a register of voters, the transfer of the names of persons from the
register of voters or one polling district to that of another polling district
and the restoration of names of registers of voters;
the nomination of candidates for any election and the manner of
establishing and recording that a candidate at a direct election for the
National Assembly is the authorised candidate of a political party;
the making and determination of appeals against the rejection of
nominations by a returning officer;
the publication of the names of candidates whose nominations are
accepted;
the payment of election fees by candidates, and the circumstances in
which such fees are to be returned;
the use of symbols at an election;
the appointment of, and the duties of, election agents and polling
agents;
the equipment and facilities to be provided at polling stations;
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