Zambian elections must be fair

Zambia must not permit its 2011 elections to be marred by political violence, as happened in other African countries, says the Jesuit who served for 20 years in the country.

Father Peter Henriot SJ, the outgoing director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection in Lusaka, says Zambians must ensure that their general elections are held freely and transparently.  He said that means ensuring fairness in the period leading up to the election.

'That means the media should cover all political parties,' he told Catholic News Service in a recent interview before leaving the country. 'Secondly, those civic authorities, the police and election officials must also treat all parties equally.'

He said elections should not be seen as a technical exercise but as a reflection of the values of the nation.
'Elections are a matter of what kind of country we want to see in the future.  You know a lot of people envied Zambians.  We have had ups and downs, but we are not the Ivory Coast, we are not Zimbabwe or Kenya, and we should not be,' said Father Henriot, who returned to the United States and was scheduled to go to Malawi later this year.

Father Henriot said he regretted the failure by the National Constitutional Conference delegates to recognize the importance of the economic and social rights clause as imperative to the development and well-being of the nation.
'The key to economic rights is the phrase 'progressive realization' and that the government must show each year in its budget that it is moving toward guaranteeing that there is adequate education, good health for all and available housing,' he said.

He urged the government to pay more attention to guidance it received from the Catholic Church and dismissed the notion by some people that the church was too involved in political matters. 'Politics is life.  Jesus was a strong politician, too, because he talked life.  What is wrong is to be partisan,' he said.