By 
Tonse Alliance Parliamentary Chairperson and Patriotic Front (PF) aspiring candidate, Brian Mundubile, has announced that PF lawmakers will not participate in the deliberations on Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 7, citing alleged constitutional breaches in its enactment process.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Mundubile said PF Members of Parliament would stay away when the Bill comes up for Second Reading in the National Assembly on Monday.
“I wish to state clearly that PF Members of Parliament will not participate in the deliberations on Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 7 when it comes up for Second Reading in the National Assembly on Monday,” Mundubile said.
He revealed that most PF lawmakers had resolved to stay away from the process, warning that their participation could expose them to possible contempt of court.
Mundubile accused the UPND government of deliberately ignoring a court judgment that declared Bill 7 a nullity, arguing that proceeding with the Bill amounted to defiance of the rule of law.
“This Bill is politically motivated. It is designed to advance the interests of the ruling party rather than serve the broader national interest,” Mundubile said.
He further accused President Hakainde Hichilema of attempting to use constituency delimitation to settle internal disputes within the UPND, particularly in party strongholds where younger members are seeking to unseat what he described as non-performing senior Members of Parliament.
Mundubile claimed that the President had failed to manage internal wrangles within his party and was now resorting to constitutional amendments and constituency delimitation as political tools.
“They are deliberately targeting smaller constituencies in their strongholds where young members are contesting positions held by older party members, with the intention to divide them,” he said.
Addressing President Hichilema directly, Mundubile warned against using the Constitution to resolve internal party challenges.
“Mr President, you cannot use the Constitution to solve problems within your own party. This approach is undemocratic. The Constitution must never be manipulated to resolve internal party disputes,” he said.
Mundubile also argued that the proposed amendments were aimed at restricting the participation of independent candidates in the 2026 General Elections, thereby shrinking the democratic space.
He cautioned that reducing the Constitution to a tool for managing internal party conflicts was dangerous and posed a threat to democratic space.
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