Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
British and United States Governments have provided a combined K24.3 million towards the January 20, 2015 presidential election.
Britain has provided approximately K13 million while the United States through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has provided 11.3 million Kwacha about $1.8 million.
British High Commissioner to Zambia James Thornton in a statement to QFM says the UK is also supporting election observation by civil society and the conduct of a parallel vote tabulation exercise.
Mr Thornton says the 20th January presidential elections are an opportunity to further build on Zambia’s growing reputation in Africa as a democratic country.
Mr Thornton however, says reports of electoral violence in some parts of the country are a source of concern.
He has commended political leaders for being quick to condemn such lapses and has hailed Police for swiftly dealing with such cases.
The British High Commissioner says it is important that candidates are free to campaign across the country without intimidation.
He has called on everyone involved in the elections to adhere scrupulously to the electoral code of conduct.
He has further called on the public media to give scrupulously fair coverage to the campaigns of the different candidates, without pressure being exerted on them by one side or another, and hopes that the private media will exercise a similar balance.
Mr Thornton has also urged the candidates to set out clearly their visions for the Zambia of the future, and their plans for achieving this.
He has encouraged the media, in a balanced and impartial way, to scrutinise the messages of the candidates so as to provide greater clarity to voters as to what they stand for.
And US Ambassador to Zambia Eric Schultz in a separate statement says the majority of the K11.3 million provided by USAID will promote electoral oversight by sending civil society observers to all of Zambia’s 150 constituencies and training poll watchers from each political party with a candidate standing in the upcoming presidential election.
Mr Scultz says the remaining funds will support the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) with voter education and outreach activities to promote voter awareness of their rights and responsibilities.
He explains that this portion of U.S. support is part of a larger “basket fund” provided by the international donor community to the ECZ and administered by the United Nations Development Program.
Mr Schultz says the United States applauds the Electoral Commission of Zambia and Zambian civil society for their professionalism and efficiency in organizing the election.
He has also urged all Zambians to protect their treasured tradition of free and peaceful elections.
Ambassador Schultz notes that peaceful rallies, debates, and balanced press coverage are essential to educating the public about the candidates’ platforms in the upcoming presidential election.
He says the U.S. Government encourages all parties to participate fully in public debates, which provide voters with a unique opportunity to assess and question the candidates.
He adds that the US Government joins the Zambian government and political leaders in condemning any use of political violence or intimidation.
Mr Schultz has also applauded the Zambia Police Service for its success to date in containing incidents of violence and has encouraged the police to continue their work in a fair manner, irrespective of the party perpetuating violent acts.
He says all political parties should be able to peacefully campaign in all parts of the country.
Ambassador Schultz has also disclosed that the U.S Embassy will join other election observers to monitor the elections at all polling station stations across all the 10 provinces in urban and rural constituencies.