An official panel set up in Zambia to investigate the violence surrounding the general elections earlier this year started its work on Monday.

The 15-member Commission of Inquiry into Voting Patterns and Electoral Violence was established by President Edgar Lungu on Oct. 21, tasked to probe the violence that rocked the country before and after the 2016 general elections.

The team was also mandated to investigate the voting patterns between 2006 and 2016 and decide if pre-election violence influenced the voting patterns and whether any political party, traditional leadership or any other organization played an unwanted role in influencing the voting patterns.

Justice Munalula Lisimba, who heads the commission, said it would be sitting in Lusaka until Dec. 28 to receive submissions from stakeholders before moving to other parts of the country.

Lisimba asked stakeholders to turn up in large numbers and make submissions to help make the inquiry a success.

The commission has 120 days in which to receive submissions.

source: Xinhua