By Lovemore Lubinda
LUSAKA — Opposition presidential candidate Brian Muntayalwa Mundubile who was picked and interrogated by the military on Friday night, and is now urging his party structures to urgently collect and secure election result forms.
In a statement posted on his verified Facebook handle on Saturday morning, Mundubile addressed provincial coordinators, candidates and members of his team.
“Good morning Provincial Coordinators, candidates and members of our team. I am sure you might have received some disturbing information last night, all I can say is that we managed to survive the situation,” he wrote.
Mundubile did not give further details about the alleged military detention in the post.
He said the immediate focus for his team should be the collection of GEN 20 forms from polling stations.
“Our immediate task is to ensure that all GEN 20s from our respective areas are collected and submitted. We have to stay ahead of the process and ensure that our information is complete and properly documented,” he stated.
GEN 20s are the official result forms signed at each polling station and are used by parties to verify the national tally being announced by the Electoral Commission of Zambia.
Mundubile set a deadline for the exercise to be completed within the day.
“By the end of today, I expect us to have wrapped up this exercise and established a clear picture of our results,” he said.
He warned that failure to secure the forms could put the opposition at a disadvantage.
“If we fail to do so and allow disputed or alleged forged GEN 20s to be introduced into the process, we risk finding ourselves on the back foot. That could ultimately turn the matter into a court dispute which would not be helpful to any of us,” he wrote.
Mundubile then called for urgent coordination among his officials.
“I am therefore calling upon all candidates and Provincial Coordinators to work together urgently. Please ensure that the relevant GEN 20s are collected and submitted so that we can consolidate our information and keep ourselves properly updated.”
The Electoral Commission of Zambia has so far announced consolidated results from four constituencies. President Hakainde Hichilema leads with 22,476 votes across Chisamba in Central Province, Kundabwika in Northern Province, Luangwa/Feira in Lusaka Province and Ndongwe in North-Western Province. Mundubile is second with 14,388 votes.
The commission says it will continue announcing more verified and consolidated results as the national tally progresses.
There was no immediate comment from the Zambia Defence Force or the Electoral Commission regarding Mundubile’s claim of military detention.
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