Observers Ready, But ECZ Delays Persist

CCMG has trained 336 monitors for 1,000 registration centres, but accreditation delays risk undermining their effectiveness

By Francis Maingaila ♥️

Lusaka, Zambia24 – (10th October 2025) — The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) says it is ready to deploy observers for the 2025 mass mobile voter registration exercise, but delays by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) in accrediting monitors are raising concerns about transparency and credibility.

CCMG Interim Chairperson Bishop Andrew Mwenda expressed worry that the failure to commence observer accreditation ahead of the exercise, scheduled to begin on 11th October, threatens the integrity of the voter registration process, a critical foundation for the 2026 General Elections.

“Despite the ECZ roadmap indicating that accreditation would take place between 27th September and 11th October, no accreditation of monitors has occurred in any district. 

The failure to communicate clearly and accredit observers undermines public trust in the process,” Bishop Mwenda said.

The group announced it has trained 336 monitors to cover a nationally representative sample of 1,000 registration centres across all 156 constituencies. CCMG plans to issue detailed reports after each phase of registration to ensure accountability and transparency.

“Each registration centre should have at least two officers and one backup registration kit to ensure efficiency and reliability,” Bishop Mwenda added, citing lessons from the 2020 exercise where understaffing and limited kits caused long queues and system breakdowns.

CCMG urged the ECZ to immediately publish a detailed national deployment plan to inform the public of where and when registration will occur. 

Bishop Mwenda stressed that district-level deployment should align with the national plan to prevent confusion or inconvenience to registrants.

The group also recommended that the ECZ provide information on staff allocation, registration kits, and centre locations at provincial, district, and constituency levels, making this data easily accessible on public platforms.

CCMG highlighted the need for registration centres to be fully accessible to persons with disabilities, including ramps, wide doorways, accessible toilets, and sign language interpreters. 

The group noted that during the 2024 continuous registration exercise, some centres in Lusaka, Mansa, Solwezi, and Livingstone were poorly equipped for persons with disabilities.

Bishop Mwenda emphasized consistent recording of disability-disaggregated data to promote inclusive voter registration.

He encouraged the ECZ to base any extension of the registration period on registration rate data and target figures, unlike the 2020 exercise where a seven-day extension was granted without proper analysis. 

The group also reminded citizens that selling or buying voter’s cards violates the Electoral Process Act and urged political parties to strictly adhere to the Electoral Code of Conduct.

Bishop Mwenda called for greater involvement of civil society organisations, faith-based institutions, and political parties in observing registration and conducting voter education. Limited civic education and low stakeholder participation in past exercises weakened transparency and citizen engagement.

He urged the ECZ to publish the national deployment plan immediately and commence observer accreditation to boost public confidence in the process. Citizens were also encouraged to register, update details, or replace lost voter’s cards.

“We encourage all citizens to take part in this critical exercise. A credible voter registration process is the first step towards a transparent and accountable election,” Bishop Mwenda concluded.