Claim
The United Party for National Development (UPND) Facebook page published an article stating that the UPND losing Members of Parliament for Mandevu, Chawama and Matero Constituencies, and the Mayoral candidate for Lusaka had unearthed an electoral scam at Nakatindi Hall at Civic Centre in Lusaka. The story alleged that some Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) officials suspected to be Patriotic Front cadres were caught filing in new Gen 20 forms (an official document containing electoral results from the polling station issued by ECZ and signed by Political Party Agents, Monitors and Observers present) for the said constituencies and the Mayoral seat.
Rating Justification
The fact checking process has established as false the claims by some UPND Parliamentary candidates that ECZ officials suspected to be Patriotic Front cadres were caught filing in new Gen 20 forms. In the video recorded by the UPND losing candidates and circulating on social media, the alleged ECZ officials are seen writing on forms. However, the video is not clear to ascertain the nature of the forms if they were Gen 20 or not. In a press statement, the ECZ stated that the assertions that the poll staff were altering figures on the Gen 20 results forms were false and malicious. Contrary to the allegations that ECZ officials had altered the results and forged signatures on Gen 20 forms, the ECZ stated that no one can amend the forms because once the results are verified by all stakeholders and announced by the Presiding Officers, they are stuck at all polling stations and become public, thereby making it impossible to alter the information on the forms. Furthermore, following the conclusion of the General Election, the Commission is mandated to conduct Ballot Paper Reconciliation country wide as indicated in the election calendar. The process was being done in the presence of various electoral stakeholders who were invited to witness the reconciliation of ballot papers through a notice dated 16th August 2021. The commission clarified that the purpose of the Reconciliation exercise is to ensure that the figures are correct and properly recorded on the ballot Paper Account Form (Gen18) before submission to the Commission. The Commission further explained the purpose of the Gen 18 form, which is to account for all ballot papers that were used in an election, and these include the used, unused, and spoilt ballot papers. This is the activity the accused officials were conducting. The Lusaka City Council through their Public Relations Manager Ms. Mwaka Nakweti, issued a similar statement on the local authority’s Facebook page refuting the allegations. She urged the losing candidates to exercise patience and wait for the due process of ballot paper reconciliation to take its course.
