Unpacking the dangers of the proposed amendments to Zambia's constitution, Part II

Mail & Guardian

08-06-2025

Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema.
In this series on Zambia, Part II looks at legalising the use of public resources for election campaigns. (
The second benefit that Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema seeks to achieve through
Article 81 (3) of
Once parliament is dissolved by operation of law, MPs are no longer MPs and lose access to all the
Dissolving parliament long before the election is important to the democratic process for two reasons.
First, it allows those who were MPs before dissolution to focus on political campaigning instead of being encumbered by parliamentary business. Second, it prevents MPs from using
Through Bill 7, Hichilema is proposing two amendments to the provisions governing dissolution.
The first proposal is to amend article 81 (3) to read: 'Parliament shall stand dissolved a day preceding the date of the next general election
.
' The
The second proposal is to make MPs retain their position for this additional three-month period but
In making these two proposals, Hichilema has three objectives.
The primary objective is to entice all MPs to support the passage of Bill 7 by dangling a carrot in front of them. If there is anything that Hichilema learnt from his predecessor's
This lesson explains why Hichilema could not embark on these constitutional changes
Hijack and take control of the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) by
Delay the resolution of the resultant PF leadership wrangles using
Induce vacancies in several constituencies by using the police to arrest incumbent MPs on what appears to be
Prevent the main opposition party from sponsoring candidates in the ensuing parliamentary by-elections either by
Use incumbency advantage and
Combined, these legal manoeuvres have enabled the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) to easily secure
This abbreviated history of Hichilema's political schemes provides the clearest evidence that the president knew earlier that he would take self-serving and personally-driven amendments to the Constitution to parliament, rather than implementing his party's 2021 manifesto that
Hichilema's hope is that the UPND will win the forthcoming by-elections before Bill 7 is tabled in parliament to reduce by one or two the number of MPs whom the ruling party might need to bribe to pass the dire constitutional changes.
In the meantime, however, the president is offering a more transparent form of bribery that he hopes will appeal to all MPs — a
The second objective is to enable MPs to campaign for their own re-election using public resources. Campaign finance is ordinarily difficult to raise in Zambia, making attractive any interventions that would help deflate
Moreover, MPs receive constant requests for financial support from their constituents and are required to make monthly financial contributions to their political parties for by-election and day-to-day operational expenses. Allowing them to draw salaries for three months,
The third objective is enabling MPs to campaign for Hichilema using public funds drawn from the free salaries and the consequent increase in their pensions
.
Currently, lawmakers receive about 3 million kwacha (the equivalent of $110 000) as payment for
Altogether, the proposed changes would encourage electoral fraud, corruption and unfair practices during campaigns and gravely
Furthermore, the proposals are likely to work to the advantage of the UPND because candidates belonging to parties in government generally find it much easier to attract external financing or resources from
Sishuwa Sishuwa is a senior lecturer in the department of history at Stellenbosch University.