CCMG urges ECZ to Improve Accreditation of Monitors/Observers, Increase the Deployment of Staff and Registration Kits and Ensure Access to Centres and Information to Stakeholders
The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) trained and deployed 336 non-partisan voter registration observers to observe the six phases of the 2025 mobile voter registration exercise. Of the 336 observers, 319 were deployed to a nationally representative sample of 1,000 registration centres, with sampled centres located in every province, district, and constituency of Zambia, with the remainder deployed to the district office registration centres. CCMG’s observers will also provide weekly reports on the general electoral environment and stakeholder activities, as well as any reports of serious issues that could undermine the voter registration process, and violations of the Electoral Code of Conduct.
Accreditation of Observers/Monitors
CCMG notes with great concern the poorly organized and managed voter registration observers’ accreditation process. On 15 August 2025, ECZ informed the public that accreditation for observation would be conducted from 27 September to 11 October 2025 at the District Councils. The ECZ then issued a notice on 10 October stating that accreditation would be conducted from Sunday, 12 October to Friday, 24 October. Further, the ECZ restricted the number of observers/monitors per district to five (5) per organization. On 11 October, ECZ issued another notice revising the restriction to three (3) observers per organization per Constituency. Any limitation on the number of monitors/observers, such as these restrictions, undermines the transparency and credibility of the electoral process, and the ECZ has not provided any information explaining the rationale for the restriction. Further, the Commission’s decision to start accreditation a day before the start of the exercise not only presented logistical challenges to CCMG but also indicated unpreparedness on the part of the Commission. CCMG further noted that some districts did not receive accreditation kits by October 12, while others received kits that required configuration, and therefore, at least 48 Civic Centres remained closed on 12 October for accreditation.
As of the start of registration, a total of 104 CCMG observers were accredited, 81 of whom received accreditation cards, 8 had their CCMG accreditation letters stamped with a note to respective officers to allow CCMG’s observers access to respective registration centres, and 3 observers were simply provided with a written note to present to Registration Officials. On Monday, 13 October, 36 CCMG observers did not deploy to their assigned registration centres as they were delayed at the district offices late on Sunday night, attempting to get accreditation, and were not able to make it to their assigned centres in time for opening. A further 14 observers were not permitted to observe as they were not accredited.
Registration Centre Opening
Based on the reports from its observers, on the first day of the voter registration exercise, CCMG found that most registration centres had all critical materials, except for backup biometric voter registration kits, which were present at least half of the registration centres observed. Additionally, CCMG notes with concern multiple critical logistical and staffing issues, including the deployment of only one Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) registration staff at some of the registration centres observed.
Materials and Equipment
CCMG’s observers reported that selected registration centres did not open, with some centres opening late due to lack of registration materials. In some registration centres observed, CCMG observers reported that voter registration kits malfunctioned, and voter registration had to be suspended for a period.
Access to Information
In most registration centres observed, CCMG’s observers were not provided with voter registration statistics at the close of the registration process. The purpose of collecting daily registration statistics is to understand the uptake of the exercise and to make recommendations, as well as develop initiatives aimed at enhancing the process. It also helps in building transparency and accountability in the process.
While the ECZ targets to register 3.5 million new voters during the 2025 mobile voter registration exercise, the Commission has not provided targets by vote age population (VAP) for each province, district, constituency, or ward. These targets are critical to measuring registration success achieved in different geographic areas and may inform decisions to extend the exercise in a targeted manner. Access to key information on voter registration will help endear public confidence in this important national undertaking, and subsequently, in the 2026 general elections.
Conclusion
In conclusion, CCMG calls on the ECZ to enhance its communication with the public on electoral process activities, such as accreditation, as well as improve its logistical preparedness for the deployment of voter registration kits and staff. Specifically, ECZ should immediately address the accreditation challenge by deploying functional accreditation kits and adequately trained staff. Further, CCMG urges the ECZ to release disaggregated registration numbers for every geographic area after the conclusion of each phase, and for daily registration statistics to be made available to all stakeholders.
Lastly, CCMG calls on all Zambians who possess the voter registration requirements to visit the centres close to them and be registered.
