Chaos at Matero Poll Center: Discrepancies Halt Vote Announcement, Raising Election Integrity Fears
Confusion has erupted at Matero Boys Secondary School in Lusaka as Resolute Party candidate Patrick Salubusa challenged election results, alleging discrepancies between announced figures and official polling station forms. The Electoral Commission of Zambia briefly suspended the process, which had not yet resumed, amid calls for verification of the parliamentary and presidential results.
Confusion erupted at Matero Boys Secondary School in Lusaka, which serves as the official totalling centre for the Matero Constituency parliamentary election, following a challenge to the announced results. Patrick Salubusa, the Resolute Party candidate, contested the figures presented by the Returning Officer, alleging discrepancies between these results and those recorded on the official GEN 20 forms obtained directly from polling stations. These concerns were raised for both the parliamentary and presidential levels of the election.
Mr. Salubusa urgently appealed to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to suspend the vote totalling process. He requested a temporary halt to allow for a thorough verification of the alleged inconsistencies before proceedings could continue. In response to these significant concerns, the ECZ indeed temporarily suspended the process, halting it for approximately ten minutes. However, by the time the initial reports were made, the electoral proceedings had not yet resumed.
The Matero parliamentary race is a keenly contested one, attracting four aspirants. Mr. Salubusa is currently positioned as one of the top two candidates, alongside Alexander Mumba Sakala from the United Party for National Development (UPND). Despite the unfolding events and challenges, the ECZ has clarified that the official results for the Matero constituency have not yet been formally announced.