Zambia Adopts New Electoral Rules, Sets Elections On 11 August

By Paul Shalala

President Lungu assenting to the Constitution Bill

Zambia has today adopted a new set of electoral laws that has set a new date for the forthcoming general elections and introduced what has been described as 'progressive clauses.'

This afternoon, Zambian President Edgar Lungu assented to the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill of 2015 which has come with several laws that had been eluding the Zambian people for decades.

Since the 1990s, Zambians had been submitting to countless Constitution Review Commissions to amend the electoral laws which date back to the colonial days.

Some of the laws Zambians have been seeking to be done away with include the first-past-the-post-takes-all electoral system and the appointment of a republican Vice President by the head of state.

Despite draft constitutions and reports being produced and circulated, successive governments have not been acting on the recommendations, rendering the whole constitution making process dead for years.

The signing ceremony was held this afternoon at the Chinese made National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, a site where the Zambian head of state was inaugurated as the country's sixth President 12 months ago after winning a tightly contested poll following the demise of Michael Sata.

"There comes a time when people's cries on an issue must come to an end....... As leaders, we have to listen to the voice of the people..... When i was being sworn in as President last year, i promise to give you a new constitution and here it is," said President Lungu.

He also reiterated his desire to have the rest of the draft constitution be passed through a referendum that he has tied to the next general elections set for later this year.

When the bill was tabled before parliament at the end of 2015, the ruling Patriotic Front allied itself with the opposition MMD to gunner the much needed votes to pass the bill which was opposed by the opposition UPND, FDD and ADD.

And in his speech, President Lungu acknowledged the role the MMD parliamentarians played.

"The MMD gives me hope with its civic roles it played in the house," he said as MMD President Nevers Mumba who was seated in the VIP section of the stadium nodded his head.

Among the electoral reforms the new law has brought is the 50 plus one majoritarian election of a president and the Vice President Running mate clause.

The new laws have set second Thursday of August every after five years as the election date.

This means that this year, Zambians will vote for their new President, Members of Parliament and Councillors on 11th August.

In the old constitution, Zambia's Presidents had the power to set an election date which stakeholders had complained that it was being used to disadvantage the opposition.

Further, the law has also adopted dual citizenship, a concept that scores of Zambians have been crying for, especially those in the diaspora.

To the delight of many, the requirement for all presidential candidates to have both their parents being born in Zambia has been scrapped off.

This is a law that was passed in the 1990s which many say was targeted at Zambia's founding father Dr. Kenneth Kaunda from participating in elections after he lost the 1991 democratic elections.

Despite this milestone for good governance campaigners, several civil society organisations and opposition political parties were opposed to the adoption of these progressive laws through parliament.

Operating under a loose consortium calling itself the Grand Coalition on The Enactment of a People Driven Constitution, non-governmental organisations even picketed parliament to block the bill last year.

On 23rd October 2014 when the final draft constitution was released, government announced it will adopt the contentious closes through Parliament and later subject the whole document to a national referendum.

But the Grand Coalition opposed the move opting for a referendum to adopt the whole document before the general elections.

Even after the bill was passed by law makers, the Grand Coalition even called on President Lungu not to assent to it.

With the enactment of these laws, the bigger job of enacting the whole constitution still lies ahead.

Zambia Parliament in session

The Bill of Rights, whose review triggers a referendum, is yet to be put on the ballot and as promised by President Lungu, will be voted together with candidates for President, Members of Parliament and Councillors on 11th August.

In May 2015, Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula announced that government had appointed Commissioners of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) as members of the Referendum Commission.

This means that the ECZ will conduct the 2016 General Elections simultaneously with the referendum on the constitution.

According to the Referendum Act, all Zambians in possession of the green National Registration Card are eligible to vote in the referendum which is usually conducted in a YES or NO fashion.

Edgar Lungu Outlines His Policy Directions For The Patriotic Front

Edgar Lungu dressing one of the defectors

By Paul Shalala

Newly appointed Patriotic Front Secretary General Edgar Lungu yesterday held his first interactive meeting with party officials where he outlined his policy direction for the ruling party.

Mr Lungu took over from Wynter kabimba who was dismissed as PF secretary General and Justice Minister in August after a long period of factionalism in the ruling party.

Th meeting, which was held at the Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka, was attended by various Lusaka and Copperbelt-based PF structures.

In his wide ranging speech, Mr Lungu called for unity and peace in the ruling party as it seeks to regain power in two years time.

"Lets love one another. Lets end violence. We are all Sata's children. We can only win elections if we work together. I want to work with all of you. I dont have special people i will work with, its all of you i need," said Mr Lungu who also serves as Defence and Justice Minister.

The PF Secretary General also announced that the ruling party will soon embark on a countrywide party mobilisation exercise which will include primary elections.

Mr Lungu said all branch, ward and constituency committees will go through elections to allow party members elect their own leaders in preparation for the 2016 general elections.

"We want you to have leaders you have elected for yourselves. We know that through this democratic exercise, the bad elements in the party will be eliminated and rejected by you people," he added.


Later, Mr Lungu received 10 defecting councillors from the opposition ADD, MMD and UPND who are currently serving in District Councils in North Western and Western Provinces.

The defecting councillors said they had decided to join the ruling party to take development to their wards.

According to electoral regulations, voters in wards where their serving councillors have defected from their parties to another, will have to elect a new councillor within 90 days.

This means there will be local government by-elections in the 10 wards in Mwinilunga and Mongu Districts in the coming months.

Sata and the Hang Parliament

By Paul Shalala

With the current composition of parliament were the ruling Patriotic Front has no two thirds majority, an alliance or a coalition government now looks likely.

According to official results, the PF has 60 seats; the MMD has 55 seats while the UPND has 28 seats.

The ADD and FDD has one seat each while three seats are held by independents.

Two more seats (Magoye, Nakonde) are yet to be decided following deaths by some candidates in the run up to the 20 September 2011 general elections.

This means that the country has a hang parliament, a situation were no party has the two thirds majority in the house.

According to the full list of recently elected Members of Parliament as released by the Electoral Commission of Zambia, no party gunnered the two thirds majority needed to control the house in terms of voting power.

Unlike the last parliament were the former ruling party MMD had more than 70 MPs including more opposition rebel lawmakers who used to vote with them, the current ruling party the Patriotic Front, does not have enough numbers in parliament.

Despite President Michael Sata having the privilege to nominate 8 more people to parliament which will bring the number of PF MPs to 68, the numbers will still be short of the two thirds of the voting power in the house.

Therefore, to avoid a crisis in passing laws in the house now that it is a hang parliament, the ruling PF is likely to enter into an alliance with one or two of the opposition parties with representation in parliament.

The most likely partner will be the UPND whose 28 MPs may help increase the PF’s control of the house way beyond the two thirds majority needed to pass laws and avoid what happened in Malawi were the opposition dominated parliament was refusing to pass laws proposed by the government which had few MPs in parliament.

Despite falling out earlier this year after the break up of the PF-UPND Pact, the two parties may still burry their differences, make it up and form a coalition government or an alliance for the smooth running of the legislature.

The other option would be to co-opt moderate or first time lawmakers from the former ruling MMD or co-opt the three independent MPs as well as the FDD and ADD whose seats may increase the PF’s grip on the house in parliament.

Despite being a new phenomena in Zambia, hang parliaments are a common occurrence after elections in many parts of the world.

Britain has a hang parliament following the failure by any of the major political parties to win with an absolute majority in the House of Commons after the last elections and that situation forced the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government to avoid a constitution crisis.