Allow Church Members to participate in Politics- ZEC

By MacPherson Mukuka

macphersonmukuka.blogspot.comThe Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) has called on the Church to allow its members to participate in the political process but should not provide a blue print for them as to which political party or candidate they must support.

ZEC Secretary General Cleophas Lungu said the Church should teach principles of a good candidate and leave the choices to the individual faithful.

He charged that the habit by some men and women of God of inviting candidates for church service and providing them with a platform to campaign under the guise of greeting the congregants is unacceptable.

He said Churches must strive to be apolitical. 

Father Lungu said this during the launch of the Christian Churches Monitoring Group, an association comprising 4 faith based organisations entrusted with the mandate of   managing of election results.

Meanwhile Father Lungu has also called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to undertake a sound preparation for the forthcoming January 20^th 2015 presidential election.

He said delays in planning may only lead to uncertainties among stakeholders and loss of confidence in the process.

The Catholic Clergy emphasised that ECZ must give election monitors genuine space for effectively monitoring the elections.

He said Monitors are partners in ensuring electoral transparency and that prohibitive cost of access to materials like voter registers and complicated monitor registration and accreditation process can only work to impede the genuine cause of monitoring the elections.

The newly launched organisation in composed of the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), The Zambia Episcopal Conference(ZEC) and The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR).