LUSAKA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- A civic organization has appealed to political parties in Zambia to encourage their members to register as voters following announcement by the country's electoral body that it will next year conduct a continuous voter registration exercise in readiness for the 2011 general elections, the Times of Zambia reported on Monday.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) last week announced that it would next year embark on a 90-day continuous voter registration exercise throughout the country in readiness for the 2011 general elections.

Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) Spokesperson Macdonald Chipenzi said political parties were key players in the voters' registration exercise and that they should not leave the task of mobilizing potential voters for registration to the government and civil society organizations.

He however said the political parties should conduct themselves in a way that would inspire people to register as voters in order to deal with the problem voter apathy experienced in past elections.

"The political parties should rise to the challenge and help encourage the potential voters to go and register as voters because that is the starting point for this democratic exercise," Chipenzi was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

According to Chipenzi, the current low voter turn-out could only be abated through the increased number of people on the voters' roll, hence the need to intensify the awareness for the forthcoming exercise.