Politics of Zambia
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The politics of
Whilst
Zambia has undergone democratic backsliding since 2011.[2] The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) rated Zambia as a hybrid regime in 2020. The EIU has also consistently put Zambia among the top ten most democratic African countries, ranking it 8th in Africa and 99th in the world as of 2018 (167 states).[3] This is also while Freedom House ranks Zambia as ‘Partly Free’, with a score of 52/100 (0 least free and 100 mostly free) as of 2021.[4]
Government and constitution
The factual accuracy of parts of this article (those related to Section) may be compromised due to out-of-date information. (August 2011) |
The constitution promulgated on 25 August 1973, abrogated the original 1964 constitution. The new constitution and the national elections that followed in December 1973 were the final steps in achieving what was called a "one-party participatory democracy".
The 1973 constitution provided for a strong president and a unicameral National Assembly. National policy was formulated by the Central Committee of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the sole legal party in Zambia. The cabinet executed the central committee's policy.
In accordance with the intention to formalise UNIP supremacy in the new system, the constitution stipulated that the sole candidate in elections for the office of president was the person selected to be the president of UNIP by the party's general conference. The second-ranking person in the Zambian hierarchy was UNIP's secretary-general.
In December 1990, at the end of a tumultuous year that included
As of 2010, a new constitution is in the process of being drafted.[6]
Political history
The major figure in Zambian politics from 1964 to 1991 was Kenneth Kaunda, who led the fight for independence and successfully bridged the rivalries among the country's various regions and ethnic groups. Kaunda tried to base government on his philosophy of "humanism", which condemned human exploitation and stressed cooperation among people, but not at the expense of the individual. During Kaunda's presidency, members of all ethnic groups were represented by ministers in the government, in relation to their demographic size.[7]
Kaunda's political party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP), was founded in 1959 and was in power under Kaunda's leadership from 1964 to 1991.
One-party state
In February 1972, Zambia became a one-party state, and all other political parties were banned. Kenneth Kaunda, the sole candidate, was elected president in the 1973 elections. Elections also were held for the National Assembly. Only UNIP members were permitted to run, but these seats were sharply contested. President Kaunda's mandate was renewed in December 1978 and October 1983 in a "yes" or "no" vote on his candidacy. In the 1983 election, more than 60% of those registered participated and gave President Kaunda a 93% "yes" vote.[citation needed]
1991: Move to a multiparty state
Growing opposition to UNIP's monopoly on power led to the rise in 1990 of the
1991–2001: MMD and Frederick Chiluba
By the end of Chiluba's first term as president (1996), the MMD's commitment to political reform had faded in the face of re-election demands. A number of prominent supporters founded opposing parties. Relying on the MMD's overwhelming majority in parliament, President Chiluba in May 1996 pushed through constitutional amendments that eliminated former President Kaunda and other prominent opposition leaders from the
In the presidential and parliamentary elections held in November 1996, Chiluba was re-elected, and the MMD won 131 of the 150 seats in the National Assembly. Kaunda's UNIP party
Early in 2001, supporters of President Chiluba mounted a campaign to amend the constitution to enable Chiluba to seek a third term of office. Civil society, opposition parties, and many members of the ruling party complimented widespread popular opposition to exert sufficient pressure on Chiluba to force him to back away from any attempt at a third term.
Presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections were held on 27 December 2001. Eleven parties contested the elections. The elections encountered numerous administrative problems. Opposition parties alleged that serious irregularities occurred. Nevertheless, MMD presidential candidate Levy Mwanawasa was declared the victor by a narrow margin, and he was sworn into office on 2 January 2002. Three parties submitted petitions to the High Court, challenging the presidential election results. The courts decided that there had been irregularities but that they were not serious enough to have affected the overall result, thus the election result was upheld. Opposition parties won a majority of parliamentary seats in the December, 2001 election, but subsequent by-elections gave the ruling MMD a slim majority in Parliament.
2001–2008
In the
The parliamentary election that same year awarded MMD with 72 seats, the remaining 84 seats split among other parties with the majority of those seats going to the Patriotic Front.
The presidency of Levy Mwanawasa until his death in office in mid-2008, was different from the flamboyant expenditure and increasingly apparent corruption of the later years of Frederick Chiluba's terms in office. Indeed, the former president was arrested and charged with several counts of
Mwanawasa was accused by some observers of demonstrating an authoritarian streak in early 2004 when his Minister of Home Affairs issued a deportation order to a British citizen and long-time Zambian resident Roy Clarke, who had published a series of satirical attacks on the president in the independent Post newspaper. However, when Clarke appealed to the High Court against the order, the judge ruled that the order was arbitrary and unjustified and quashed the order. President Mwanawasa, true to his mantra of heading a government of laws, respected the court decision and Clarke was allowed to resume his column of satirical critique. Mwanawasa's early zeal to root out corruption also waned somewhat, with key witnesses in the Chiluba trial leaving the country. The Constitutional Review Commission set up by Mwanawasa also hit some turbulence, with arguments as to where its findings should be submitted leading to suspicions that he has been trying to manipulate the outcome. Generally, the Zambian electorate viewed Mwanawasa's rule as a great improvement over Chiluba's.
Following Mwanawasa's death in August 2008, Zambian vice-president Rupiah Banda succeeded him to the office of president, to be held as a temporary position until the emergency election on 30 October 2008. Banda won by a narrow margin over opposition leader Michael Sata, to complete the remainder of Mwanawasa's term.
2011 elections
Rupiah Banda failed to be re-elected in the 2011 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, losing to Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front. This brought an end to a total of 20 years' rule by three presidents from the MMD.
2015–present
On 5 January 2016, Lungu successfully concluded long-standing constitutional issues when he assented to the 2015 Constitutional Amendment Bill. This bill is the result of extensive work begun during the Mwanawasa era (The Mwanakatwe Commission) and continued by the Michael Chilufya Sata appointed Technical Committee. As justice minister, Lungu had previously presented the draft constitution to parliament, where it was subsequently decided that non-contentious issues will be debated in parliament and contentious issues will be subject to a referendum. In the August 2016 Zambian general election, President Edgar Lungu won re-election narrowly in the first round of the election. The opposition had allegations of fraud and the governing Patriotic Front (PF) rejected the allegations made by opposition UPND party.[11] However, in 2020 the Parliament through the office of the justice minister (Given Lubinda) proposed a bill called Bill 10, which was rejected in Parliament on its third reading.
In the 2021 general elections, characterised by a 70% voter turnout, Hakainde Hichilema won 59% of the vote, with his closest rival, incumbent president Edgar Chagwa Lungu, receiving 39% of the vote.[12] On 16 August Edgar Lungu conceded in a TV statement, sending a letter and congratulating president-elect Hakainde Hichilema.[13][14] On 24 August 2021, Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in as the new President of Zambia.[15]
Executive branch
The executive branch of the Zambian government is vested in the president who is elected in a two round system. Presidents serve terms of five years and are limited to two terms.
Prior to the 2016 Constitutional Amendment the Zambian vice-president was appointed by the president, but the current 2016 amendment puts the vice-president on the same electoral ticket as the president (running mate) (Article 110 Sec 2, 3 and 4) and in the event of a vacancy of an elected president the vice-president is the immediate successor to the president and remains president until the next general election (Article 106 Sec 5(a) and Sec 6).[16] This is in contrast to the 1996 constitution that required a by-election within 90 days of an elected president's vacancy with the vice-president acting as an interim (as was the case with former Acting-President Guy Scott in October 2014 to January 2015 and former President Rupiah Banda in 2008 after the deaths of Presidents Sata and Mwanawasa respectfully).
The presidency is currently filled by Hakainde Hichilema with Mutale Nalumango as vice-president since 2021.
Legislative branch
The
Political parties and elections
Presidential elections
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hakainde Hichilema | United Party for National Development | 2,852,348 | 59.02 | |
Edgar Lungu | Patriotic Front | 1,870,780 | 38.71 | |
Harry Kalaba | Democratic Party | 25,231 | 0.52 | |
Andyford Banda | People’s Alliance For Change | 19,937 | 0.41 | |
Fred M'membe | Socialist Party | 16,644 | 0.34 | |
Highvie Hamududu | Party of National Unity and Progress | 10,480 | 0.22 | |
Chishala Kateka | New Heritage Party | 8,169 | 0.17 | |
Charles Chanda | United Prosperous and Peaceful Zambia | 6,543 | 0.14 | |
Lazarus Chisela | Zambians United For Sustainable Development | 5,253 | 0.11 | |
Nevers Mumba | Movement for Multi-Party Democracy | 4,968 | 0.10 | |
Enock Tonga | 3rd Liberation Movement | 3,112 | 0.06 | |
Trevor Mwamba | United National Independence Party | 3,036 | 0.06 | |
Sean Enock Tembo | Patriots For Economic Progress | 1,813 | 0.04 | |
Stephen Nyirenda | National Restoration Party | 1,808 | 0.04 | |
Kasonde Mwenda | Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,345 | 0.03 | |
Richard Silumbe | Leadership Movement | 1,296 | 0.03 | |
Total | 4,832,763 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 4,832,763 | 97.45 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 126,569 | 2.55 | ||
Total votes | 4,959,332 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 7,023,499 | 70.61 | ||
Source: ECZ |
Parliamentary elections
The election in Kaumbwe constituency did not take place on 12 August due to the death of the UPND candidate and was postponed until 21 October 2021.[17]
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United Party for National Development | 2,230,324 | 46.22 | 82 | +24 | |
Patriotic Front | 1,722,718 | 35.70 | 60 | –20 | |
Socialist Party | 61,325 | 1.27 | 0 | New | |
Democratic Party | 50,886 | 1.05 | 0 | 0 | |
People's Alliance for Change | 20,227 | 0.42 | 0 | 0 | |
Party of National Unity and Progress | 13,178 | 0.27 | 1 | +1 | |
United National Independence Party | 12,742 | 0.26 | 0 | 0 | |
Forum for Democracy and Development | 4,006 | 0.08 | 0 | –1 | |
National Democratic Congress | 3,807 | 0.08 | 0 | New | |
Movement for Multi-Party Democracy | 3,665 | 0.08 | 0 | –3 | |
Leadership Movement | 3,585 | 0.07 | 0 | New | |
Christian Democratic Party | 3,471 | 0.07 | 0 | New | |
New Heritage Party | 1,762 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | |
Golden Party Zambia | 858 | 0.02 | 0 | New | |
National Restoration Party | 664 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | |
Zambians United for Sustainable Development | 554 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Green Party of Zambia | 499 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | |
United Prosperous and Peaceful Zambia | 309 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Movement for Democratic Change | 306 | 0.01 | 0 | New | |
Patriots for Economic Progress | 232 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
Economic Freedom Fighters | 104 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
Independents | 690,418 | 14.31 | 13 | –1 | |
Appointed and ex-officio | 11 | – | |||
Total | 4,825,640 | 100.00 | 167 | 0 | |
Valid votes | 4,825,640 | 97.74 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 111,726 | 2.26 | |||
Total votes | 4,937,366 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 7,023,499 | 70.30 | |||
Source: ECZ, ECZ, ECZ (Kaumbwe const.) |
Judicial branch
The Supreme Court is the highest court and the court of appeal; below it are the high court, magistrate's court, and local courts. A separate Constitutional Court was established in 2016.[18]
Military
The Zambian Defense Force (ZDF) consists of the army, the air force, and the Zambian National Service (ZNS). The ZDF is designed primarily for external defence. The Zambian Police force is not part of the defence force, it was established for internal security services and is under the ministry of home affairs.
Foreign relations
Zambia is a member of the
President Kaunda was a persistent and visible advocate of change in Southern Africa, supporting liberation movements in Mozambique, Namibia, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), and South Africa. Many of these organisations were based in Zambia during the 1970s and 1980s.
President Chiluba assumed a somewhat higher profile internationally in the mid- and late 1990s. His government played a constructive regional role sponsoring Angola peace talks that led to the 1994 Lusaka Protocols. Zambia has provided troops to UN peacekeeping initiatives in Mozambique, Rwanda, Angola, and Sierra Leone. Zambia was the first African state to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda into the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
In 1998, Zambia took the lead in efforts to establish a cease-fire in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zambia was active in the Congolese peace effort after the signing of a cease-fire agreement in Lusaka in July and August 1999, although activity diminished considerably after the Joint Military Commission tasked with implementing the ceasefire relocated to Kinshasa in September 2001.
Zambia is also a member of the
Participation in international organisations
Zambia is a member of
References
- ^ "47. Zambia (1964–present)". uca.edu. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-19-286732-2
- ^ "Global democracy has a very bad year". The Economist. 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Zambia: Freedom in the World 2021 Country Report".
- ^ http://www.clgf.org.uk/default/assets/File/Country_profiles/Zambia.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Press Release : Draft National Constitution". www.zambian-economist.com.
- ^ GROWup - Geographical Research On War, Unified Platform. "Ethnicity in Zambia". ETH Zurich. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ^ https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2359.htm
- ^ "Zambia: 1991 Presidential election national results | EISA". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ "Edgar Lungu collapse: Zambian president 'needs treatment abroad'". BBC. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Zambia's President Edgar Lungu declared election winner". BBC News. 15 August 2016.
- ^ "Presidential Election Results". Electoral Commission of Zambia. 16 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Zambia election: Hakainde Hichilema beats President Edgar Lungu". BBC News. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Kabwe, Zitto [@zittokabwe] (15 August 2021). "#Zambia President @EdgarCLungu has conceded in a letter sent to now president elect @HHichilema of @UPNDZM. Once again Zambia has shown the world the level of its democratic maturity. Peaceful transfer of power is happening for third time in history. Congratulations Zambians" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Zambia's Hakainde Hichilema sworn in as President in rare victory for an African opposition leader". 24 August 2021.
- ^ National Assembly of Zambia (5 January 2015). [41.77.4.167:6510/www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/amendment_act/Constitution%20of%20Zambia%20%20(Amendment),%202016-Act%20No.%202_0.pdf "Constitution of Zambia (Amendment)"] (PDF). Parliament of Zambia. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
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value (help) - ^ Why the PF won the Kaumbwe parliamentary election Lusaka Times, 22 October 2021
- ^ Kunda, James (22 March 2016). "Zambia: Constitutional Court Judges Sworn in". Times of Zambia. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
External links
- Zambia Government at Curlie