Are you an Electoral Official?

Roles and Responsibility of Various Election Officials

Provincial Electoral Officer

  1. To coordinate elections in the province
  2. A link between the Commission and the District. However, the District Electoral Officer reports directly to the Director of Elections.

District Electoral Officer

  1. To develop an implement election activity plan for the district in accordance with guidelines issued by the Commission.
  2. To determine nomination centres for the Parliamentary (The Electoral Act No. 12 of 2006, Electoral (General) Reg. 21) and Local Government Elections;
  3. To determine polling station for the Presidential, Parliamentary (The Electoral Act No. 12 of 2006 Electoral (General) Reg. 21) and Local Government Elections;
  4. To arrange for premises or temporary structure to be used as polling stations
  5. To manage resources and equipment allocated to the district;
  6. To communicate with headquarters and district stakeholders;
  7. To arrange for and allocate uniformed staff;
  8. To ensure proper and secure storage of Commission Equipment and consumables;
  9. To produce election reports on the election activities in the district;
  10. To ensure that all election results, equipment and materials are delivered to head office at the end of the election;
  11. To coordinate publicity and voter education activities in the district;
  12. To brief all stakeholders, ,monitors and observers in the district;
  13. To appoint election staff in the district on behalf of the Commission;
  14. To supervise all election staff; and
  15. To appoint and revoke staff appointments for all election staff in the district.

Election master Trainer

  1. To train the district election trainers;
  2. To supervise the training of election officers;
  3. To monitor and evaluate the training of election officers.

Qualifications

  1. A Grade 12 Certificate with a Credit in English and Mathematics
  2. At least 2 years tertiary education
  3. A degree from a recognized university will be an added advantage
  4. Registered voter
  5. Zambian with green National Registration Card
  6. Conversant with Zambian electoral practices and procedures

Requirements

  1. Experience in elections at Returning or Assistant Returning Officer level or better
  2. Experience in facilitating, training or teaching
  3. Ready to work in any district

Personal Attributes

  1. Must be non-partisan
  2. Must be of sober mind
  3. Must be of high integrity
  4. Must be flexible and attentive to detail
  5. Must have and exhibit the right attitude all the time
  6. Must be self motivated and be able to work without any supervision
  7. Must possess good interpersonal skills
  8. Must be a team player and possess good team building ability
  9. Must have excellent communication and problem solving skills
  10. Must have good planning and organizing skills
  11. Must be able to implement training programmes and any other instructions at short notice
  12. Must be able to implement lawful orders and electoral programmes at short notice
  13. Must be innovative and use initiative while paying attention to the Commission’s policies, guidelines, regulations and other laws governing the electoral process
  14. Must be fluent in spoken and written English and any local language

District Election Trainers

  1. To train all election officers

Qualifications

  1. A Grade 12 Certificate with passes in English and Mathematics
  2. At least 2 years tertiary education
  3. A higher qualification will be an added advantage
  4. Registered voter
  5. Zambian with green a National Registration Card
  6. Conversant with Zambian electoral practices and procedures

Requirements

  1. Experience in elections at Presiding Officer level or better
  2. Experience in facilitating, training or teaching
  3. Proof of availability to conduct training at district level when required
  4. Ready to work in any district within the province of residence
  5. Must be in formal employment and recommended by their superiors

Personal Attributes

  1. Must be non-partisan, sober minded, self motivated and of high integrity
  2. Must be flexible and attentive to detail
  3. Must have and exhibit the right attitude at all times
  4. Must be able to work without any supervision
  5. Must possess good interpersonal skills
  6. Must be a team player and possess good team building ability
  7. Must be an excellent communicator and possess problem solving skills
  8. Must have good planning and organizing skills
  9. Must be able to implement training programmes and any other instructions at short notice
  10. Must be able to implement lawful orders and electoral programmes at short notice
  11. Must be innovative and use initiative while paying attention to the Commission’s policies, guidelines, regulations and other laws governing the electoral process
  12. Must be fluent in spoken and written English and any local language

Returning Officers

The role of Returning and Assistant Returning Officers is to coordinate the supervise the conduct of elections in a constituency. Election Officers’ role is to received nominations for the local government elections.

Responsibilities

  1. To coordinate the packing of election materials;
  2. To coordinate deployment of poll staff;
  3. To coordinate and conduct elections in the constituency;
  4. To receive nominations from aspiring candidates;
  5. To issue the certificate of authority to vote to election officers working outside the polling stations where they registered as voters;
  6. To inspect all polling stations and ensure that each polling station is suitable for the polls;
  7. To ensure that all polling staff are adequately trained;
  8. To ensure that the procedure outlined in the Regulations and the instructions in the user manual are strictly followed to issue certificate of achievement to trained electoral staff
  9. To issue certificate of achievement to trained election staff;
  10. To collate results in the Wards and Constituency;
  11. To declare Local Government and Parliamentary election results in ward/ constituencies;To announce Presidential election results in the ward / Constituency;
  12. To conduct the verification of the ballot paper accounts; and
  13. To ensure return of all election materials and equipment

Qualifications

  1. Must have a Grade 12 Certificate with passes in English and Mathematics
  2. At least 2 years full tertiary education
  3. A higher qualification will be an added advantage
  4. Registered voter
  5. Zambian with green a National Registration Card
  6. Conversant with the Zambian electoral practices and procedures

Requirements

  1. Proven experience as an Election Officer in at least two elections
  2. Very good geographical and delimitation knowledge of the constituency and ward.

Personal Attributes

  1. Must be non-partisan, sober minded, self motivated and mature
  2. Must be of high integrity
  3. Must have good planning and organising skills
  4. Must be an excellent communicator and possess problem solving skills
  5. Must be a team player and possess good team building ability
  6. Must be able to implement lawful orders at short notice
  7. Must be innovative and use initiative while paying attention to the Commission’s policies, guidelines, regulations and other laws governing the electoral process
  8. Must be fluent in spoken and written English and the local language

Assistant Returning Officer

  1. To assist the Returning Officer in the coordination and conduct of elections in the constituency; and
  2. To perform any other duties as assigned by the Returning Officer

Qualifications

  1. Must have a Grade 12 Certificate with passes in English and Mathematics
  2. At least 2 years full tertiary education
  3. A higher qualification will be an added advantage
  4. Registered voter
  5. Zambian with green a National Registration Card
  6. Conversant with the Zambian electoral practices and procedures

Requirements

  1. Proven experience as an Election Officer in at least two elections
  2. Very good geographical and delimitation knowledge of the constituency and ward.

Personal Attributes

  1. Must be non-partisan, sober minded, self motivated and mature
  2. Must be of high integrity
  3. Must have good planning and organising skills
  4. Must be an excellent communicator and possess problem solving skills
  5. Must be a team player and possess good team building ability
  6. Must be able to implement lawful orders at short notice
  7. Must be innovative and use initiative while paying attention to the Commission’s policies, guidelines, regulations and other laws governing the electoral process
  8. Must be fluent in spoken and written English and the local language

Presiding Officers

  1. To conduct elections according to electoral procedures;
  2. To ensure that stocks of election materials are adequate before deployment;
  3. To take care of equipment and materials under their custody;
  4. To communicate any problems to the Returning Officer of the Assistant Returning Officer;
  5. To record the proceedings of the poll in a diary;
  6. To count the votes cast at the polling station;
  7. To announce the election results at the polling station;
  8. To maintain order at the polling station;
  9. To supervise all polling and other uniformed staff;
  10. To ensure the return of all election materials and equipment to the Returning Officer
  11. To Perform Any Other duties as may be requested by the supervisor.

Qualifications

  1. A Grade 12 Certificate with a pass in English and Mathematics
  2. At least 2 years tertiary education
  3. A higher qualification will be an added advantage
  4. Be in possession of an ECZ certificate
  5. Registered voter
  6. Zambian with a green National Registration Card
  7. Experience in conducting elections at least at Polling Assistant level

Personal Attributes

  1. Must be non-partisan, sober minded, self motivated and mature
  2. Must be of high integrity
  3. Must have good planning and organizing skills
  4. Must be an excellent communicator and problem solving skills
  5. Must be a team player and possess good team building ability
  6. Must be able to implement lawful orders at short notice
  7. Must be innovative and use initiative while paying attention to the Commission’s policies, guidelines, regulations and other laws governing the electoral process
  8. Must be fluent in spoken and written English

Assistant Presiding Officer

  1. To Assist the Presiding Officer in the coordination and conduct of elections in the constituency; and
  2. To perform any other duties as assigned by the Presiding Officer.

Qualifications

  1. A Grade 12 Certificate with a pass in English and Mathematics
  2. At least 2 years tertiary education
  3. A higher qualification will be an added advantage
  4. Be in possession of an ECZ certificate
  5. Registered voter
  6. Zambian with a green National Registration Card
  7. Experience in conducting elections at least at Polling Assistant level

Personal Attributes

  1. Must be non-partisan, sober minded, self motivated and mature
  2. Must be of high integrity
  3. Must have good planning and organizing skills
  4. Must be an excellent communicator and problem solving skills
  5. Must be a team player and possess good team building ability
  6. Must be able to implement lawful orders at short notice
  7. Must be innovative and use initiative while paying attention to the Commission’s policies, guidelines, regulations and other laws governing the electoral process
  8. Must be fluent in spoken and written English

Polling Assistants

A polling Assistant can be assigned any of the following functions:

  1. To verify the identity of voters in the Register of Voters;
  2. To mark voters thumb with indelible ink
  3. To issue Presidential National Assembly and Local Government ballot papers
  4. To direct voters where to cast their votes and ensure the safety of the ballot boxes
  5. To assist the Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer during the counting of votes at the end of the poll;
  6. To usher voters to their respective streams to cast their vote.

Qualifications

  1. A Grade 12 Certificate with a pass in English and Mathematics
  2. A tertiary education qualification will be an added advantage
  3. Registered voter
  4. Zambian with a green National Registration Card

Personal Attributes

  1. Must be non-partisan, sober minded, self motivated and mature
  2. Must be of high integrity
  3. Must be a good team player
  4. Must be able to follow orders and implement them at short notice

Uniformed staff

  1. To maintain law and order in the vicinity of and within the polling station;
  2. To provide security for all poll staff, voters, equipment and materials;
  3. To perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Presiding Officer or Assistant Presiding Officer.