An assessment of voter education programme conducted by the electorol commision of Zambia(ECZ) and the civil society in Lusaka

This study set out to assess Voter Education Programmes (VEPs) conducted by the
Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the civil society in Lusaka District. A
descriptive study design was employed to assist the researcher gain more insight on
the types of VEPs conducted in Lusaka. The study used both qualitative and
quantitative methods to collect data. The sample for the study was 158 participants
which comprised 8 Voter Education (VE) officials, 1 officer responsible for
managing VEPs on behalf of (ECZ) from Lusaka City Council (LCC) and 150
participants that were trained in VE trained by ECZ or the civil society. The officials
were purposively selected as they were rich information sources. Snowball sampling
was employed to select the 150 participants. Data was collected using open ended
questionnaires and interview guides. Qualitative data was analyzed by categorizing
similar themes as they emerged and was presented in a qualitative form. With respect
to quantitative data, it was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) and was presented using frequency distribution tables.
The study revealed that the types of VEPs that ECZ and the civil society conducted
were seminars, workshops, radio productions, posters and community mobilisation
programmes. However, it was established from this study that other types of VEPs
like rallies, dance, music, documentaries, banners, commercial advertises and role
playing were not identified as VEPs conducted by ECZ and the civil society. It was
further discovered that most trainings in VEP were conducted in English and
facilitators were not adequately trained and that there was erratic funding. As such,
the study recommended that the civil society and ECZ to implement VEP in local
languages, source for more funding and translate VEP materials into local languages
and train VEP facilitators so that they can undertake their work without difficulty.