Group backs calls for defecting lawmakers to vacate their seats

The Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation (ADEG) has supported calls for the Speaker of the National Assembly to declare vacant the seats of Members of Parliament who have defected to the ruling party while retaining their parliamentary positions.

In a press statement issued in Lusaka on Monday, ADEG Executive Director, Gideon Musonda, expressed concern over what he described as a growing number of lawmakers abandoning the political parties that sponsored them into office.

Musonda said the continued stay of such Members of Parliament in the National Assembly was a clear violation of the Constitution of Zambia.

He urged the Speaker to take urgent and decisive action in line with Article 72(2)(d) and (g) of the Constitution.

“This constitutional provision is unambiguous and was deliberately strengthened through the 2016 constitutional amendments to safeguard the will of the electorate and uphold the integrity of parliamentary representation throughout the five-year term,” Musonda said.

He stressed that compliance with the provision was not optional but mandatory, noting that any Member of Parliament who defected from their sponsoring party must vacate their seat.

Musonda explained that Article 72(2)(d) and (g) clearly states that a lawmaker shall vacate office if they resign from the political party that sponsored them to the National Assembly or, if elected as an independent candidate, subsequently joins a political party.

He further argued that voters cast their ballots not only for individuals but also for party affiliation, ideology, and the expectation of alternative voices that provided oversight and checks and balances to the ruling party.

“Parliament, as the supreme legislative body, must exemplify strict adherence to the law. Failure to enforce this constitutional provision risks setting a dangerous precedent that erodes public trust and weakens the very foundations of Zambia’s multiparty democracy,” he said.

Musonda added that when elected representatives abandoned their parties without returning to the electorate, they effectively distorted the mandate given to them by the people.

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