ATLANTA (July 26, 2021) — The Carter Center has deployed the first two members of its international electoral expert mission to Lusaka to assess the process surrounding Zambia’s Aug. 12 general elections.
The electoral expert mission, which initiated its work remotely in mid-July, is composed of four international experts and a local analyst. Staff from the Center’s Atlanta headquarters will join the mission in August. The team will assess political, legal, and administrative aspects of the election. Though the electoral expert team will be in Lusaka for election day, the mission’s limited size and scope makes a thorough, nationwide assessment of the voting, counting, and tabulation processes impossible.
Instead, the Carter Center’s mission will focus on key aspects of the Zambian electoral process, including the legal electoral framework; the effectiveness and transparency of electoral preparations; the campaign environment, including freedom of the media; respect for core participatory rights; the use of social media; and disinformation and misinformation trends.
Carter Center experts will conduct interviews with key electoral stakeholders, including political parties, the electoral commission, the Zambian government, civil society organizations, scholars, international and national observer missions, diplomatic missions, and international organizations. The Carter Center electoral expert team works in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Observation. The mission’s analysis is based on international human rights obligations and standards for democratic elections.
The Carter Center has a long history of supporting elections and democratic governance in Zambia, dating to its international observation of the country’s first democratic elections in 1991. The Center observed the 2001 and 2016 elections and has been working since 2019 to encourage the participation of women and youth in political and civic life.
The electoral expert team will release a brief preliminary report a few days after the Aug. 12 election. Approximately two months after the conclusion of the electoral process, it will provide a more detailed report on key critical pre- and post-election issues, including possible appeals. The final report will include recommendations based on the experts’ analysis.
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Contact: In Atlanta, Soyia Ellison, associate communications director, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org
In Lusaka, Kakai Kissinger, electoral expert team lead, kakai.kissinger@cartercenter.org
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A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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