Registrar of Political Parties Kizito Tenthani has said his office has so far recorded 196 election-related cases with two referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for action.
In a written response on Thursday, he said of the 146 complaints were received before polling while the rest have been received after polling.
Out of the total, Tenthani said seven were withdrawn by the complainants and his office is currently processing 96 complaints.
He said: “As regards the submission to the DPP, we had submitted two files but this coincided with the changes that have happened at that office. I am yet to engage the new DPP to map the way forward.
“Cases keep coming, some lodge complaints more than once, using different channels, other complaints are merged. Others are withdrawn. Please, give us time to prepare and present a comprehensive statement on the status.”
But Tenthani could not divulge details on the nature of the cases submitted to the DPP, insisting that he will issue a statement this week.
However, he said most complaints involve allegations of monetary enticements, while some involve providing free maize milling for villagers and throwing parties. There were also cases of candidates campaigning outside the official campaign period.
Commenting on the issue, Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said the registrar has shown commendable responsiveness and growing relevance in addressing electoral complaints, but pointed out the need to move expeditiously.
“The continued inflow of complaints even after polling reflects public confidence. However, its true effectiveness will be measured by the speed, fairness and decisiveness with which these cases are concluded.
“The limited referrals to the DPP and the existing backlog points to gaps that require urgent attention. Strengthening the office’s institutional capacity, particularly in staffing with requisite legal, investigative and mediation skills is essential, for justice delayed is indeed justice denied,” he said.
In May this year, government gazetted regulations to govern, among others, prohibition of handouts by politicians in line with the Political Parties Act (PPA).
Based on these regulations, where a person is deemed to have contravened the Act, the Registrar may specify the penalty for the contravention or refer the matter to the appropriate law enforcement agency for further action.
Section 41 (1) of the PPA 2018 prohibits any candidate, political party or person contesting in an election from issuing handouts.
