Voter apathy in zambia pdf

Any serious effort at electoral reforms to bring about free, fair and credible elections must take into account the challenges of voter apathy. When they become active voters and there is no voter apathy meaning that they are. He said recent election have indicated that people have lost confidence in politicians adding the proposal would only work if voter apathy was restored in. Monitoring group ccz christian council of zambia chaz churches association of zambia.

Process fodep and the anti voter apathy project avap. A voter registration audit commissioned by the ecz found some 2,000 national registration numbers shared by more than one voter. On the other hand, it is a signal of the extent of poverty in. Worldwide, voter numbers are dwindling due several factors such civil wars in some countries, time constraints and general lack of interest. Political alienation may be confused with voter apathy. Mobile teams conducted the voter registration drive, travelling to polling centers across the country. Analysing the effects of voting apathy in democracy. The major cause of voter apathy is a general lack of agency. Government of the republic of zambia and the electoral commission of zambia ecz, the european union election observation mission eu eom was present in zambia from 29 june to 12 september 2016. Electoral commission of zambia is an independent and autonomous electoral management body emb established in 1996. Csec report on zambias 2011 tripartite elections 20 september 2011 december 2011 csec secretariat, co caritas zambia plot 60 kabulonga road p. Women lobby group znwlg, the law association of zambia laz, the anti voter apathy project avap, the zambia independent monitoring team zimt, women in law and development in zambia wildaf and the zambia association for research and development zard.

Zambia information services zis had been given k525m for the publicity campaign to increase the level of public awareness about the forthcoming polls. Voter apathy has its causes, but yali has solutions. The observer group was present in zambia from september 2011. Involving todays young in tomorrows democracy, prepared by international idea analyses the problem of low voter participation among young people, its implications and ways to overcome it, with the objective of promoting electoral participation.

Preliminary statement patience while results come in august. Carter center observation assessment of the 2001 zambian preelection period december 2001 on 27 december 2001, zambian voters will go to the polls in the countrys first ever tripartite elections. The atp, created by pew research center, is a nationally representative panel of randomly selected u. During four days of briefings, the group met with the electoral commission of zambia, political party representatives, civil society groups, womens groups, youth representatives, media. While voter choice is necessary for turnout to have an immediate impact on the outcome of a single election, low turnout in combination with safe election districts can have longterm. We call upon all concerned stakeholders to take note of the critical observations made and act upon them. Voting was reported as largely peaceful, with initial reports suggesting a high voter turnout. Increasing turnout in congressional primaries elaine c.

The concept of civic education is however broader than civics. General elections were held in zambia on 11 august 2016 to elect the president and national assembly. From his standpoint, voting is not only ones right but a valuable undertaking. Lungu shouldnt insult voters, says tonga the mast online. Turnout in elections has often been low, and political participation in general has been limited. Analysing the effects of voting apathy in democracy politics. There are 6,698,372 registered voters 3,372,935 women, 3,325,437 men that can vote in the presidential, mayoral, national assembly, and councillor elections. Five studies on the causes and consequences of voter turnout. Many apathetic voters never cared, though, in which case they wouldnt be fatigued, just apathetic for some other reason. Voter apathy negatively impacts upon the electoral process and its outcome.

Zambia got its independence from britain in 1964, and, like most former colonies of. Pdf voter apathy and the 2011 elections in nigeria. Zambezi west, vubwi, kasenengwa and mkushi south will elect new members of parliament after byelections were caused by the nullification of seats by the courts of law. Justice mambilima said heavy rains and voter fatigue could have also contributed to voter apathy.

Voter turnout trends around the world this report is a continuation of international ideas earlier publications on voter turnout, but in a much shorter form. Edgar lungu says one of the threats to democracy is voter apathy. The president is elected by popular vote to serve a 5year term. Voter apathy or lack of interest is often cited as a cause of low turnout among eligible voters. Civicus civil society index analytical country report for zambia list of acronyms avap anti voter apathy bci basic capability index cbos communitybased organisations ccjdp catholic commission for justice, development and peace ccmg christian churches. A research report commissioned by independent national electoral commissioninec and friedrichebertstiftung fes. The paper next will consider the rise of low turnout uncompetitive elections and the consequent impact on american politics. Voter education may be the best solution for apathy because it helps people understand that while countrywide problems need to be dealt with, participation in local elections is one way of taking action to fix the situation in their. Th is study aims to identify factors that may counteract this trend in order to ensure that confl ict continue to be managed peacefully. This research is a first step in looking into the root causes of voter apathy in the country. Electoral commission of zambia to release results in the most expeditious and transparent manner possible and to communicate regularly as the results are received and verified. The mission was led by chief observer cecile kyenge, a member of the european parliament mep. The major problems associated with the electoral process outlined in the pamphlet include the constitution of zambia amendment act of 1996.

Voter apathy has its causes, but yali has solutions yali. Avap antivoter apathy project fodep foundation for. A constitutional referendum was held alongside the elections, with proposals to amend the bill of rights and article 79 president edgar lungu, previously elected in january 2015 to finish the term of michael sata, who died in office, was reelected to a full fiveyear term when he scored. Observing the 2001 zambia elections pdf the carter center. An act to provide for a comprehensive process for a general election. Mar 12, 2020 voter apathy has been compared with a sort of political depression, where one feels helpless and unable to influence important events. Apathy denotes a lack of feeling of personal responsibility, a passivity and indifference for political affairs. In preparation for the 2016 general election, the ecz held a registration drive from sept. In short, zambian voters see zambian democracy as flawed. But zambia congress of trade unions zctu secretary general cosmas mukuka has appealed to.

I hope that the consideration it will receive at international ideas 1999 democracy forum will contribute not only to opening the eyes of young people to the seriousness of electoral non. Voter apathy is signal of voter fatigue and poverty. Crewe et al 1992 distinguish between voter apathy and voter alienation as the basis of low political motivation. Zambia has a population of about 14 million people. Following a voter registration update conducted by the ecz, there were 6,698,372 voters on the register, amounting to 89 per cent of the overall projected population. From a record 93% voter turn out in the june 1999 general elections, voter turn out tumbled to 59% in may 2004.

Finally, the measures which have been proposed in order to increase voter participation are presented and critically assessed. Times of zambia voter apathy erodes democracy, retards. Since its establishment, the commission has delivered five 5 general elections in 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016, two 2 presidential elections in 2008 and 2015 and several national assembly and local government byelections. The elections in zambia are administered by the electoral commission of zambia ecz which has. Voters will be issued with three ballots to elect the president, 150 members of parliament and hundreds of local council representatives. Voter apathy occurs when eligible voters do not vote in public elections. Voters, parties and elections in zambia centre for social science. According to the seventh edition of the oxford advanced learners dictionary, apathy is the feeling of not being interested in or enthusiastic about. Therefore, while one can blame the unfavourable weather as the cause of high voter apathy in the recent presidential byelection, it is also true that zambia has been experiencing high voter apathy even in favourable weather conditions where less than 50 per cent of the registered voters turnout for voting. Thursdays low voter turn out and its implications the. Times of zambia should voter apathy attract penalties. Staff reporters, lusaka there was voter apathy in the eagerly anticipated first executive mayoral byelection in lusaka with most polling stations recording below 20 percent turnout.

When new, working class voters were brought the polls australia saw significant changes in election results and public policy. Persons with disabilities have long been fighting for recognition and protection of their rights to political and public participation through an. Methodology pew research center methods pew research center. Zambia s general elections in august are met by a new constitution that significantly impacts the electoral and voting environment. The participation of so many political parties in the lusaka mayoral elections scooped by former deputy minister miles sampa was significant as. Kamarck w ith the coming to power of the tea party in the 2010 republican primaries, the resulting change in the factional configuration of. In 2010 and 2011 the ecz implemented a voter registration exercise and managed to increase the numbers on the roll to over five million for the first time in zambias history. Promoting transparent and credible elections through monitoring all stages of the 2011 electoral process in zambia.

Voter apathy is a problem well known to europe and nigeria, but with different root causes. Since the 2008, zambians have been subjected to hundreds of byeelections, punctuated by general elections. Thus, as inec prepared for the april 2011 elections, it became imperative to do a study on the nature, causes. Carter center observation assessment of the 2001 zambian. In short, apathy threatens the concept of direct democracy, but it doesnt threaten the existing system of representative democracy, it merely strengthens it. A voter who is a citizen of the country, is the running fuel and engine of democracy. Pdf voters apathy and revival of genuine political. Krosnick arthur lupia abstract in many postelection surveys, the proportion of respondents who claim to have voted is greater than governmentreported turnout rates. Mar 11, 2020 in his state of the nation address to parliament last friday, president lungu said. With this in mind, efforts should be made to reverse the high voter apathy trends in the country if democracy is to flourish and lead to a sustainable development process for the benefit of all zambians. Preliminary statement patience while results come in. Csec zambia s 2011 tripartite elections report 2 it is our hope that stakeholders will find this report educative and informative.

A strategic conflict assessment of zambia th us far, confl ict in zambia has generally been resolved without the resort to violence. It encourages voter apathy in societies where political patronage is based. Before focusing on the seven indicators for identifying the causes and poten. But with high voter apathy in our country, this seems not to be the case. However, for almost 26 years of its practice, the concept has not effectively achieved these objectives. On the other hand, the media houses, both print and electronic, which were accosted in search of primary data were. Even seemingly benign cures like social capital, electoral competition, and voter. Zambia has a unicameral national assembly with 158 seats. Does low and unequal voter turnout influence partisan election results or public policies.

The results of the presidential and parliamentary elections that took place in zambia on 27 december can only be analysed in terms of the prevailing ethnic and tribal prejudices that came to translate themselves in the voting pattern. Measuring voter registration and turnout in surveys. Sometimes, alienated voters do care about an election, but feel estranged or disaffected from the system or somehow left out of the political process. Cve but it has taken the initiative due to high levels of voter apathy in zambia. The enormity of the task of changing the environment, i think, is something that drives voter apathy, he said. Outside of election time, voters may seem disillusioned with the political process or politicians in general. Voter apathy hits solwezi, 4 other constituencies zambia.

Ndi addition, the electoral process was peaceful, and voter turnout. In zambia, many eligible voters remain unregistered because, for deliberate as. Zambia, electionsvoting, voting results, political systems. Voter apathy is the name assigned to this type of behavior. Some voters deliberately cause apathy, mr mtolo was quoted by the zambia daily mail of november 24, 2014. It presents a brief summary of recent global trends in voter turnout and addresses some of the most frequent questions and concerns raised on the topic. Civicus civil society index analytical country report for zambia list of acronyms avap antivoter apathy bci basic capability index cbos communitybased organisations ccjdp catholic commission for justice, development and peace ccmg christian churches. The commercial voter file data were matched to panelists who took part in the postelection survey of the american trends panel atp. Outside of election time, voters may seem disillusioned with the political process or politicians. Sep 11, 2014 zambias political temperature is being tested today when electorates five constituencies hold in byelections. Unfortunately for long time now in zambia and the third world in general many people understand civic education as mere civics for youngsters. Subsequently, it denotes the absence of a feeling of personal obligation to participate.

The report you have in your hands youth voter participation. A constitutional referendum was held alongside the elections, with proposals to amend the bill of rights and article 79. In short, low voter turnout and inequalities in voter turnout have significant political and policy consequences, but the problem is hard to fix. It is only once democracy is viewed in terms of public participation that the issue of apathy becomes a threat, undermining the very meaning of the word. Voters apathy and revival of genuine political participation in nigeria article pdf available in mediterranean journal of social sciences 43 september 20 with 6,107 reads.