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The Prisoner Reintegration and Empowerment Organization (PREO) has asked the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ0 to consider according inmates an opportunity to vote in the January 20, 2015 presidential by-elections.
PREO chairperson Derrick Malumo urged the ECZ to make wider consultations with the Attorney General, the Human Rights Commission and other relevant organizations on the possibilities of allowing prisoners to vote.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr. Malumo said giving prisoners an opportunity to cast their votes would be the best independence jubilee celebration gift for them.
He noted that prisoners also monitor events of national interest through televisions hence the need for them to be given an opportunity to express their opinion through a ballot.
Mr. Malumo however suggested that if possible, the ECZ could also consider taking voting centres to prisons to avoid moving inmates to polling stations.
But ECZ Public Relations Manager Chris Akufuna said allowing prisoners to vote is beyond the commission’s capabilities.
Mr. Akufuna said ECZ was guided by the law and that it can only allow inmates to vote if the law was amended.
