The bishops of Zambia decried the suspension of vote counting following the August 13 general election.
“While we acknowledge that the Commission has since indicated that counting has resumed under heightened security, the very fact that such a suspension was made a day after Zambians went to the polls is a matter that should trouble every citizen of goodwill,” the bishops said in an August 16 statement. “Every day of unexplained delay erodes public confidence and gives room to those who would seek to manipulate or discredit the outcome.”
The prelates concluded:
We remind all, the Electoral Commission, security agencies, political parties and citizens alike, that the will of the Zambian people, freely expressed at the ballot box, must be respected and protected. Zambia’s peace has been hard-won and long treasured; it must not be sacrificed on the altar of political ambition, on any side.
May God bless Zambia and grant her a just, transparent and peaceful conclusion to this electoral process, through the intercession of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Patron Saints of our Country.
Located in southern Africa, the nation of 21.4 million (map) is 87% Christian (44% Catholic), 10% ethnic religionist, and 2% Baháʼí.