Bill 10 Rejected, Opposition & Civil Society Refocus On ECZ
The controversial Constitution Amendment Bill No 10 was yesterday rejected by parliament.
The Bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass but fell six votes short of the required 111 votes.
The Bill and its contents have been a divisive issue, with civil society groups and the opposition concerned it threatened Zambia’s status as a democracy.
Among the most contentious and concerning provisions in the Bill were the re-introduction of deputy ministers, the permitting of ministers to stay in office during elections and scope for interference in the appointment of judges. All of which opposition and civil society claimed were designed not to benefit the citizenry, but to strengthen the PF’s grip on power ahead of elections next year.
Opponents, from the UPND and the NDC, to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), ActionAid and Linda Kasonde’s Chapter One, all objected to the Bill on the basis that it strengthens the existing powers of the executive and President to the detriment of Zambia’s democracy. Groups have also sought to challenge the legality of the Bill in the courts.
The Bill also contained some worrisome provisions relating to Government’s economic and financial management, giving the President the power to contract debt without requiring parliamentary approval. This served as another red flag ahead of elections scheduled for 2021.
However, Bill 10 is not the only worrying development ahead of next year’s general elections and concern will now be refocused on the ECZ’s plans to register the whole country, an estimated nine million voters, in a 30-day period.
Musician Pilato and other citizens have sought a judicial review into the plans, which has since been dismissed by the High Court for bearing similarities to a case brought by the UPND.
“The six million plus voters were registered over a period of years…What makes you think that you will register every qualified Zambian within 30 days? ECZ should guard itself against becoming the enemy institution of our people. They must decide which side of history they want to fall. We have a duty to defend the integrity and dignity of our institutions especially those that define our democracy. We will stand up to ECZ and we will resist every attempt to undermine the power of the vote,” Pilato was quoted as stating.
Fellow activist and Alliance for Community Action (ACA) Executive Director Laura Miti also weighed in on the ECZ's drive to re-register everyone stating, “It really makes no logical, logistical or democratic sense this move and they can’t seem to explain themselves convincingly.”
National Democratic Congress (NDC) president Chishimba Kambwili has stated, “The current register was compiled in 2005, 2011 and 2016 and captured a total of six million voters. How then can they in 2020, when the population has grown, capture the same nine million people in 30 days? Colleagues, electoral process brings problems if elements of arrogance, not listening from stakeholders take root… Let us have elections that are going to stand a test of time, by doing the right thing. What we are asking for is enough time for the Zambians to register as voters. This is not debatable! How can you capture people that were captured in nine months, in one month? This issue must be resolved or else this country will be on fire.”
UPND leader Hichilema has also expressed concern stating, “The number of days allocated for registration of voters; we disagree on that. The law says there should be continuous voter registration.”
He has challenged that the Electoral Process Act does not allow the removal of the existing six million registered voters.
Hichilema raised additional concerns regarding the impact of political violence and the distribution of cash and mealie meal through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), which he claimed was being used “as a department of a political party.”
Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema celebrating the defeat of Bill 10