By Chinoyi Chipulu
Justice minister Princess Kasune has announced and presented in Parliament, a roadmap for the constitutional amendment which the UPND government intends to undertake.
And Kasune said the proposed changes prioritised equity, inclusion and had been repeatedly advocated by a cross section of the Zambian people.
Speaking when she delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament this afternoon, Kasune said the reform agenda sought to address systemic imbalances in resource allocation, political representation and electoral processes.
She said the changes would ensure women, youth and differently-abled citizens had a guaranteed voice in Parliament and cut wasteful by-election costs, which had amounted to K264 million since 2021.
She said the amendments were expected to shape Zambia’s democratic trajectory and would undergo public scrutiny before their finalisation on July 25, 2025.
“We’re tackling long-overdue issues-ensuring resources like the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) reflect constituency size and population, not just uniform allocation,” she said
Kasune said the the bill would be gazetted for 30 days, giving every Zambian the opportunity to take part and shape the reforms.
“Government intends to deal with only non contentious issues so as to address lacunas and gaps in the constitution. The non contentious shall then be published before the introduction of the bill for the first reading in the National Assembly,” she said.
“Since July 2024, the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s Technical Committee comprising political parties, churches, academia, youth groups,l and eminent persons has gathered stakeholder views, reinforcing these non-contentious reforms.”
Kusune said there was need to amend Articles 58 & 68 to re-draw boundaries for equitable CDF distribution by size and population.
“The constitution provided a fixed number of constituencies in the country, The Electoral Commission of Zambia was mandated at intervals of not more than ten years to review names and boundaries of constituencies,” he said.
Kasune said the impact of delimitation would provide equitable distribution of resources based on population and land mass.
She said there was need to amend Article 52(6) to proceed with elections if a candidate resigned, avoiding fresh nominations.
Kusune said there was also need to amend Articles 47(2) & 68 to guarantee seats for women, youth and persons with disabilities.
“It has been noted that the current electoral system does not guarantee seats for women, youths and persons with disabilities, therefore, it is proposed that the constitution be amended,” she said.
On the re-introduction of members of parliament in councils, Kasune said it was proposed that Article 153(2) be amended in order to include MP’s on the list of people who constituted a council.
She said Articles 73(2), 101(5) and 103(2) should be amended to determine petitions within 90 or 14 days.
“These would avert the unfortunate position the country found itself into in 2016,” she said.
On by-election reform, Kasune said there was need to amend Article 57 to end party vacancy by-elections, saving K264 million plus K3.9 million per candidate.
She said people had repeatedly lamented that by elections were a huge cost on the treasury, which derailed and destabilised developmental projects.
“Increase the numbers of nominated members of parliament, Madam Speaker, the constitution under Article 68(2)(b) provides that there shall be not more than eight nominated members of parliament. It is proposed that the article be amended so as to increase the number of nominated members of parliament to a number that would be provided to an act of parliament,” she said.
She said the constitution under Article 81 provided that the term of parliament should be five years for MPs, from the date they were sworn into office to end on the date parliament was dissolved.
“It is proposed that Articles 81 and 266 be amended in order to actualise the term of office to a period of five years,” she said.
Kasune said Article 116 should be amended so that the office of minister becomes vacant 90 days before the holding of the next general election, and the five years will only be applicable to members of parliament.
She said there should be an amendment of Article 154(2)(b) to remove the two-term cap for mayors and amend article 176(3) to lower experience from 10 to 5 years for eligibility.
On Attorney-General Continuity, she said Articles 178(1)(b) & 179(4)(b)b should be amended to provide for the Attorney General and Solicitor to continue holding office until the formal appointment of new office bearers.
She said the constitution under Article 266 provided that the definition of the word child as a person under the age of 18, and adult as person who had attained it.
“It has been observed that Article 266 lacks clarity because it deems a child as any person who has attained the age of 18. It is proposed that the word child be amended to provide for clarity,” said Kasune.
