Zambia gives Dubai firm contract to print ballot papers for polls

Zambia's electoral body on Thursday announced that it had awarded a tender to print ballot papers for this year's general election to a Dubai-based firm despite protests from stakeholders.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) said it decided to award to Al Ghurair Printing & Publishing Company the tender to print ballot papers for the August 11 polls after a re-evaluation process.

ECZ Chairperson Justice Esau Chulu told a meeting of stakeholders that the decision to award the tender followed a re-evaluation of the bidding process as demanded by the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) after objections raised by one of the bidders.

Ren-Form Printing Company of South Africa, one of the bidders, had appealed against a proposal to award the Dubai firm the contract, forcing the electoral body to take the matter to the ZPPA which ordered for a re-evaluation of the process.

Chulu said after the re-evaluation, the Dubai-firm bid emerged top after it met the electoral body's specifications bordering on security.

The electoral body, he said, re-evaluated all 13 firms that had submitted bids before settling and finally decided to pick the Dubai firm.

The electoral body, he said, will sponsor one agent from each presidential candidate to witness the printing of the ballot papers to allay any suspicions.

Stakeholders have opposed the awarding of the tender to the Dubai firm, and accused the electoral body of colluding with the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) to rig the polls, claims which have been dismissed.

Suspicions were heightened this week when President Edgar Lungu went on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, with critics claiming he had gone to meet officials from the firm. The claims have since been refuted by his office. Endit