Post-Election Reviews on Conflict Management Completed

The second Post-election Reviews Workshop on conflict management held at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lusaka. Participants in the workshop which was held in Lusaka from 17th to 18th February 2017 included DCMCs from Lusaka, Eastern, Southern, Western and Central provinces.

The Commission has completed Post-election reviews on conflict management. The reviews which were supported by the UNDP with funding from EU, UKAid, Irish Aid and USAID took place in Lusaka and Copperbelt Provinces from 13th to 14 February 2017.

UNDP Dispute Resolution Advisor, Mr Tunji Namaiko who offered technical support to the whole process told the weekly that participants in the Conflict Management Review workshops were drawn from the Commission’s Legal department, the National Conflict Management Committees (NCMCs), District Conflict Management Committees (DCMCs), Political Parties and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). “The reviews were aimed at strengthening the Committee’s peace-building role by learning and drawing from experiences of the 2016 general election” Mr. Namaiko Said.

The reviews were divided into four workshops. The first workshop for District DCMC members in Luapula, Northern, and Copperbelt North-Western and Muchinga provinces, was held in Kitwe from 13th to 14th February, 2017. The second Review, for DCMCs from Lusaka, Eastern, Southern, Western and Central provinces was held in Lusaka from 17th to 18th February 2017.

The third workshop was held from 20th to 21st February, 2017.  Participants were representatives from the 10 main political parties which participated in the last general election. Apart from the political party representatives the workshop included representatives  from 10 CSOs namely Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD), Forum for Democratic Process (FODEP), Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG), Caritas, ZCID, Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), Dag Hammarskjöld Institute for Peace Studies, The Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC), The Media Institute of Southern Africa Zambia Chapter (MISA) and The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ).

The fourth and final workshop was held in Lusaka from 17th to 18th February, 2017 and was attended by members of NCMCs and Staff from the Commission’s Legal Department.

The review process provided an appreciation of what is in place in terms of Conflict Management and a recognition of the efforts of the DCMCs and NCMCs in making a positive impact in the areas of conflict prevention and mediation among parties involved in the electoral process.

The review emphasized the need for Strengthened partnerships between DCMCs and NCMC as well as other role-players and generated information that will serve as a baseline   for future conflict interventions.

The review workshops were facilitated by Mr.Oita Etyang, a Kenyan Conflict  Specialist Major General Vincent Mukanda (Retired), former Deputy Zambia Army Commander and  Research Fellow at the Dag Hammarskjöld Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Copperbelt University.

Lessons learnt from the review process will inform the ECZ 2017-21 strategic-plans and the 2017 ECZ work-plan.