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The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has called on the government to withdraw Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7 of 2025, citing a lack of stakeholder involvement and participation, which it says contravenes the basic principles of constitutionalism.
LAZ president, Lungisani Zulu, expressed concern that the proposed bill appeared to have been published in the Government Gazette merely for public information, without establishing a clear and inclusive process for meaningful public and stakeholder participation prior to its submission to the National Assembly.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Zulu emphasized that the Constitution was fundamentally a people’s document, and that its formulation must involve citizens without exception.
“It is the position of LAZ that the Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7 of 2025 lacks the broad-based stakeholder engagement and national consensus necessary to deliver legitimate and widely acceptable constitutional reforms,” Zulu said.
He further expressed concern that the current process excluded key stakeholders and citizens from participating in shaping the bill’s content.
“We note, further, that Government has not disclosed the processes it followed in developing the bill, nor has it indicated which stakeholders, if any, contributed recommendations. This opacity undermines confidence in the process,” he stated.
Zulu urged the government to heed calls from the Church, traditional leadership, civil society, and other stakeholders to withdraw the proposed amendment bill.
He insisted that any constitutional reforms must be anchored in genuine, inclusive dialogue and consensus to ensure their legitimacy.
Among the proposals LAZ found troubling was a provision under Section 8 of the bill, which seeks to amend Article 72(8) of the Constitution to allow vacancies in the office of Member of Parliament (MP) to be filled by the political party to which the departing MP belonged.
“This provision is dangerous, particularly in a political environment characterized by weak intra-party democracy. It deprives citizens of their right to elect their representatives and opens the door to potential abuses, where elected leaders could be replaced without the people’s consent, undermining the democratic integrity of the National Assembly,” Zulu warned.
He also raised concerns about the proposed increase in the number of elected MPs to 211, a move based on the Electoral Reform Technical Committee Report, the contents of which remain undisclosed despite being the product of a public process.
“It is unreasonable for citizens to debate the merits of increasing constituencies when the locations of these proposed new constituencies are treated as state secrets,” Zulu argued.
He questioned the government’s decision to prioritize expanding Parliament, especially given the country’s limited resources and without clear evidence that smaller constituencies perform better or that increasing the number of MPs would drive economic development.
“Instead of hastily pursuing constitutional amendments that expand the National Assembly, government should focus on fully implementing decentralization policies that would deliver resources and services to communities at grassroots level,” Zulu said.
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