ECZ EXPOSED: 2021 vs 2026: Same Job, Different Treatment. Gary Nkombo vs Calestine Mukandila. ECZ Exposed!
ECZ EXPOSED: 2021 vs 2026: Same Job, Different Treatment. Gary Nkombo vs Calestine Mukandila. ECZ Exposed!
In 2021, Gary Nkombo served as the UPND Alliance’s election chairperson. At one point he effectively held the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) hostage, stopping and preventing the announcement of certain results from Luangwa and other parts.
The nation applauded his role and his insistence that things be done correctly. Among those who praised him were President Hakainde Hichilema and Mwangala Zaloumis
Five years later, Celestine Mukandila, accredited on behalf of NRPUP, was simply raising points doing essentially the same thing, and far less disruptively than Nkombo. Yet the ECZ has decided to withdraw his accreditation from the National Totaling Centre.
What the ECZ does not appear to understand is that this is precisely his job. The decision has exposed the weakness of the ECZ and the UPND government’s inability to handle diverse voices.
The ECZ must, with immediate effect, revoke the withdrawal of Mukandila’s accreditation. What transpired is exactly what his role requires and it’s what everyone has been doing before.
Michael M. Mulusa
A voice