By Francis Maingaila
LUSAKA, Uganda (AA) – Zambia’s Parliament late Wednesday hurriedly passed controversial changes to the nation’s elections laws to suit the demands of the new Constitution which President Edgar Lungu signed this January.
Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula presented the Electoral Bill of 2016 amid protest from opposition political parties, who claimed they were not consulted when the bill was drafted.
Edith Nawakwi, head of the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), told journalists in Lusaka that the bill will not make any meaningful changes to election law.
“This bill will put the [Electoral] Commission under the direct protection of the president,” she explained. “The commissioners will act for and on behalf of the president who appoints them.”
According to Nawakwi, stakeholders on the contrary want the election law to enable the commission to make independent decisions.
Similarly, Heritage Party head Godfrey Miyanda told Anadolu Agency that changes to the bill requested by major stakeholders, including political parties and NGOs, were absent from the final version.
“Because this bill does not give the commission the independence it deserves, it will work to the disadvantage of the opposition in the coming election.”
Lungu last week told the opposition if they were not happy with preparations made by the commission, they could boycott the presidential, legislative, and local elections set for Aug. 11.
“I hear there are some parties not happy with the way the ECZ [Electoral Commission of Zambia] is preparing this year’s election. These are signs that they are not ready to take part in the coming election,” Lungu told journalists in Lusaka last week.
“If that is the case, then, let them boycott the elections, because my government will not allow anyone to continue harassing the commissioners who are working round the clock to ensure a free and fair election,” he added.
But Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) head Hakainde Hichilema told journalists that Lungu is mistaken to expect an opposition boycott.
“Go and tell President Lungu that this will not happen,” said Hichilema.
“The election will go on and should go as planned, despite the tricks this government is making to force us to boycott the election,” he added.
According to Hichilema, boycotting the election would be tantamount to leaving the country in the hands of unprincipled people who have failed to lead the country to prosperity.
“We know that this is a snare by President Lungu, who wants us to boycott the coming election. My message to him is that we shall take part in the coming election and we shall defeat him at his own game.”
The Electoral Act was revised after a general outcry that it was being contravened by the newly amended Constitution.
Stakeholders want the commission to be independent of any political ties in conducting elections.
“Placing the Commissioners under the protection of the president will not make the ECZ act independently,” Guess Nyirenda, head of Operation Young Vote (OYV), told Anadolu Agency.
