Voter apathy unacceptable- Mulwani

The Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) says the voter apathy that has characterised most by elections in the country is unacceptable and is an affront to the electoral process.

AVAP Executive Director Richwell Mulwani says urgent measures need to be taken in order to ensure that people take part in the electoral process.

Mr Mulwani said this in an interview with the Zambia News and Information Services ( ZANIS )  in Lusaka today.

He added  that it was unfortunate that the country has continued registering low voter turnout saying the trend was not conducive for the growth of the country’s democracy.

He said Members of Parliament need to come on board and push parliament to reconsider the continuous voter registration exercise to ensure that people register as voters and take part in by elections.

The majority of by elections that the country has had some far has been marred by voter apathy with most recording far below the number of registered voters taking part in the elections.

And Mr Mulwani has commended political parties that participated in the Katuba parliamentary by elections for upholding peace during and after the elections.

He said despite pockets of violence that erupted during the voting day, the elections were generally peaceful.

Mr Mulwani has since implored political parties to engage in dialogue whenever they encounter differences instead of resorting to violent conduct.