A SEVEN months pregnant woman of Lusaka Getrude Kaluba on Friday evening endured over 12 hours on the queue to get a voters card for the forthcoming general elections.
Kaluba who was found at Lusaka Show Grounds with other women around 02 hours on Saturday morning said she had been in the queue from 15 hours the previous day.
” I am a first time voter. We have been told by people in Garden House that if we don’t register we will be prohibited from travelling long distances and that they will confiscate our stalls at the market. I can’t afford to go through that with my pregnancy, that is why I am here,” said Kaluba.
Other women, some lactating who were also on the queues vowed not to leave until they registered.
25-year-old Martha Musole who was breastfeeding her 4 months old baby said she would not be frustrated to leave or give up because she is eager to participate in the August 12, 2020 general elections.
” This is my first time registering as a voter. The process is long and tedious but I won’t relent. I came with other women in my neighbourhood around 20 hours. We are still in the queue and we will continue waiting until we get our voters’ cards,” said Musole.
She appealed to the Electoral Commission of Zambia to emphasise to the officers conducting the voter registration the importance of ensuring that pregnant women, mothers with young children, the elderly and the disabled are given priority.
Around 02:00 hours, people were still in queues and had started cursing the process.