Amidst anxiety, accusations and speculations, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has urged candidates who have filed in their nominations for the various positions on the FAZ executive committee to allow the process to run smoothly as laid out in the constitution and electoral code.
“For the process to be credible, everyone must play their part and avoid raising unnecessary alarm at every stage. FAZ is committed to running a very free and fair process,” FAZ general secretary Reuben Kamanga says.
FAZ will hold elections on March 29, 2025 in Livingstone where the membership will elect the president, vice president and the women’s representative.
Provincial elections will run from March 15-27 with each of the 10 regions voting for a chairperson, vice chairperson, committee member, women representative and youth representative.
The provincial chairperson sits at the national executive committee.
In a statement today, FAZ updated its members and stakeholders about the progress of electoral activities that have been going on since the announcement of the electoral roadmap on January 11, 2025.
Kamanga says the Governance and Review Committee and the Electoral Committees were currently scrutinising the nomination for integrity and eligibility among other checks as guided by the FAZ Constitution and the FAZ Electoral Code of 2020.
He says members of the Governance and Review Committee, Electoral Committee and Electoral Appeals Committee are appointed by the FAZ Council which is the supreme organ of the Association and are supported administratively by staff members from secretariat.
“We would like to congratulate the various candidates that expressed interest in contesting elections by filing nominations physically, online and through email. The process is now at vetting stage by the Governance and Review Committee that is running the integrity check. After that, the Electoral Committee will deal with the intricate details of eligibility,” Kamanga says.
He says the process is on course in conformity with the roadmap that will see the Electoral Committee unveil the list of successful candidates on February 17, 2025. Unsuccessful candidates will have up to February 22, 2025 to appeal when the final list will be announced.
Nine candidates including incumbent Andrew Kamanga have filed for the presidency of FAZ.
Others are former FAZ vice president Emmanuel Munaile, general secretaries Adrian Kashala and Machacha Shepande as well as two journalists Alex Njovu and Godfrey Chikumbi. The rest are MUZA FC proprietor Keith Mweemba and accountant Mumbo Lombe.
By Benedict Tembo
May the best candidate emerge victorious!