The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) as part of its comprehensive monitoring of
the entire 2021 elections will deploy over 1,600 monitors and mobile supervisors to every
province, district and constituency on Election Day. CCMG’s monitors will arrive at polling
stations before they open and remain there vigilantly watching the entire process until voting
and counting are finished. Their presence at polling stations will help assure that all Zambians
feel confident to freely exercise their fundamental right to vote.
CCMG’s monitors will send in detailed reports to the CCMG Data Centre on the conduct of the
voting and counting processes in near real time via coded text messages. All monitor reports
will be verified to ensure their accuracy. CCMG monitors were carefully selected from CCMG
member organizations, thoroughly trained and have been accredited by the Electoral
Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
In its observation of Election Day, CCMG is employing the PVT methodology, which is an
advanced citizen monitoring methodology employed by citizen groups across Africa, including in
Zambia. This will ensure that CCMG provides the most accurate information on the conduct of
voting and counting and will be able to assess if the official results for the presidential election
as announced by the ECZ reflect the ballots cast at polling stations.
Elections are more than just Election Day that is why CCMG has been monitoring the entire
electoral process. Throughout the pre-election period, CCMG has deployed 330 long-term
observers (LTOs) to every constituency of the country to report on electoral preparations, the
campaign and campaigning space, the implementation of COVID-19 mitigation protocols,
politically-motivated violence and related acts, the use of government resources in campaigning
and partisan acts by traditional and religious leaders. CCMG also deployed monitors to over
1,000 registration centres during the voter registration process. CCMG’s assessment of the
elections will, therefore, be based on monitoring of the entire process, not just Election Day.
CCMG plans to issue its preliminary statement on the overall conduct of the voting and counting
processes at 10h00 on Friday 13 August 2021 at the Radisson Blu Hotel. This will be a
comprehensive statement drawing on pre-election and Election Day reports from CCMG
monitors from every province, district and constituency of the country. However, CCMG will
continue to closely monitor the process through its completion, including the tabulation and
announcement of results.
CCMG calls on all registered voters in Zambia, regardless of which party they support, to go out
and vote on Election Day confident that CCMG monitors will be at polling stations to help
safeguard the process. We encourage the ECZ to administer voting, counting and the tallying of
results in an inclusive, transparent and accountable manner and to only announce results that
reflect the ballots cast at polling stations. We urge all political parties and candidates to resolve
all emerging disputes through peaceful means and through legal channels. Our commitment to
Zambians is that we will assess the 2021 general election with complete neutrality, will provide
an assessment of the election based on the whole of our observation efforts and will speak out
on any Election Day irregularities documented by our monitors, including any detected in
announced election results. God Bless Zambia.
