Zambia’s ruling party on Friday endorsed a controversial new electoral bill which seeks to give President Levy Mwanawasa stronger mandate over the conduct of general elections to be held later this year.
The bill aims to correct a constitutional anomaly on who should set the date of the elections, Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) party national secretary Katele Kalumba told a parliamentary select committee on legal affairs, governance and human rights.
Kalumba said it was in order that the president set the poll date since he had the mandate to dissolve parliament after which elections were called within 90 days.
Opposition political parties and civic watch groups have rejected the bill, saying it does not guarantee free and fair elections and have urged the government to act on recommendations for electoral and constitutional reforms.
The introduction of the bill was an attempt to solve the current problem and had to conform to the current constitution. The new clause in the bill that makes provision for the president to have authority over election dates did not contradict the constitution in any way, Kaluma explained.
”As MMD, we are stating that as government we respect the constitution. So, unless it is amended or changed, any bill brought to the House has to conform with the existing constitution,” he told parliamentarians.
Opposition politicians, civil society groups and media officials have called for the immediate withdrawal of the bill, saying it is flawed and highly inadequate as a basis for conducting the forthcoming tripartite elections.
They also cautioned that the implementation of the bill could result in conflict and that electoral reforms could only be possible if relevant parts of the constitution were amended.
”We believe that constitutional amendments are a pre-requisite for meaningful electoral reform under which the government promised the 2006 elections to be held,” the groups said in a joint statement.
Last year, an Electoral Reform Technical Committee and a Constitutional Review Commission found grounds for the adoption of a new Republican constitution for Zambia.
But the government has been widely seen to have ignored the recommendations, presenting instead a bill that favors Mwanawasa and his ruling party.
Mwanawasa is seeking a second five-year term in office in the impoverished country of about 11-million people. — Sapa-dpa