The Editor Zambia
As Zambia heads to the polls on Thursday, the last thing voters need is confusion over how to mark their ballot papers.
Yet Tonse-Pamodzi/ NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile appears determined to turn a straightforward electoral issue into another political controversy by insisting that voters must use an X, despite the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) clarifying that other clear marks, including a tick, can be valid. 
Mundubile has accused the ECZ of confusing voters by introducing what he describes as alternative marks at the eleventh hour.
He has argued that Zambians have traditionally been instructed to use an X and has pointed to Regulation 33(d) of the Electoral Process (General) Regulations, 2016, which instructs voters to mark the ballot with a cross.
But the ECZ has now provided a wider legal interpretation, explaining that the requirement to use a cross does not mean that every ballot without an X must automatically be rejected.
ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro has stated that Section 60(6)(b) of the Electoral Process Act requires a voter to mark the ballot in a manner that indicates the candidate he or she wishes to vote for.
He further explained that Regulation 46(2)(b) provides that a ballot marked otherwise than by a cross should not, for that reason alone, be declared invalid if the voter’s intention is clearly apparent and the mark does not identify the voter.
This clarification is important because it means that the central question at counting is whether the voter’s intention can be clearly established.
The ECZ has nevertheless maintained that the cross remains the recommended standard in voter education. What it has rejected is the claim that the absence of an X automatically makes a ballot invalid.
It is, therefore, misleading for Mundubile, as a presidential candidate, to tell voters in categorical terms that they must use an X or risk having their votes rejected when the electoral authority has expressly clarified the circumstances under which other clear markings can be accepted.
There is nothing wrong with encouraging voters to follow the ECZ’s recommended procedure and use an X. In fact, voters should continue to follow the official voter education guidance and make one clear mark inside the designated space for their preferred candidate.
The problem arises when a political leader presents a disputed interpretation of the law as though it were the only possible legal position, particularly when such statements are made days before polling.
Presidential candidates have a special responsibility to provide voters with accurate information, especially on something as fundamental as how to cast a ballot.
The safest message to voters is simple: follow the ECZ’s instructions, make one clear mark in the space of the candidate of your choice, and do not allow political rhetoric to create unnecessary fear about the validity of your vote.
With only a day remaining before polling, Zambia needs clarity rather than confusion. Political leaders like Mundubile should help voters participate confidently in the democratic process instead of deepening uncertainty over how their votes will be counted.
