Zambia’s electoral body suspends campaign rallies amid rising COVID-19 cases

LUSAKA, June 4– Zambia’s electoral body on Thursday suspended campaign rallies ahead of this year’s general elections due to surging COVID-19 cases.
Patrick Nshindano, Electoral Commission of Zambia Chief Electoral Officer, said the holding of campaign rallies by all political parties has been suspended with immediate effect.
He told journalists during a press briefing that political parties will have to use other means to reach voters instead of holding rallies as huge gatherings have been identified as super-spreaders of the pandemic.
The banning of campaign rallies follows a recommendation from a technical committee and a meeting held with political parties.
The electoral chief said the Aug. 12 general elections will go ahead as it was a constitutional mandate.
Zambia recorded 825 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours as increased cases start taking a toll on the country’s health system in the advent of the third wave, a senior government official said on Thursday.
The cases were picked from 10,949 tests done during the period, bringing the cumulative cases to 97,388.
Kennedy Malama, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in charge of Technical Services said the evolving situation has placed a strain on the health workers. (Xinhua)