Claim
On 12th August, 2021, the Zambian Observer online news website published a report claiming that voters at Airport Community School Polling Station in Choma Central Constituency stoned an Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) officer following unverified information that she was in possession of pre-marked ballot papers on polling day. The publication claimed that when contacted, the Choma District Electoral Officer, Mr. Mangwato Chembo, stated that the allegations by the electorate were not as alarming and referred to the situation at the polling station as stable. The publication stated that Mr. Chembo had also commended the professional manner in which officers from the Zambia Police and the ECZ officials had handled the situation.
Rating Justification
The Fact-Checking process has determined as false the claim that an Electoral Commission of Zambia official was in the possession of pre-marked ballot papers. In a phone call with the iVerify Fact-Checking team, Albert Mwiinga, the station manager for Byta FM radio station, mentioned that the ECZ polling assistant was using a biometric voter verification machine; denying the claim that he had any pre-marked ballot papers. Mr. Mwiinga also referred to a conversation he had on the subject with the District Electoral Officer, the Choma Town Clerk, Mr. Mangwato Chembo who confirmed that at the time of the attack, the ECZ polling assistant was using a biometric voter verification machine instead of a manual verification register to verify voter details, which had resulted in suspicion by voters who saw it as a way of trying to manipulate the votes.
