LET US NOT COMPARE THE PRESIDENCY TO A COUNCILLOR OR MP
It is not a normal or meaningful comparison to treat the term limits of a President, Member of Parliament, councillor or mayor as though these offices carry the same powers.
The Presidency is fundamentally different because it concentrates enormous executive authority, appointment powers and constitutional responsibilities in one office. Zambia’s Constitution currently limits a person to two terms as President under Article 106(3).
There are several important reasons why presidential term limits matter:
1. Presidential power is extensive.
The President has significant constitutional appointment powers. For example, the President appoints Ministers and Provincial Ministers, and has constitutional powers relating to the appointment of public officers.
An MP or councillor does not exercise comparable executive appointment authority.
2. Presidential immunity is fundamentally different.
The Constitution provides specific protection to a sitting President from criminal proceedings for acts or omissions during the tenure of office. The legal framework also provides for restrictions concerning criminal proceedings against a former President in relation to acts done in office or in a personal capacity while serving as President.
That is precisely why accountability after leaving office matters. Holding the highest office in the land cannot mean being permanently beyond the reach of the law.
Parliamentary privilege is different. MPs have privileges and immunities connected to the functioning of Parliament and its proceedings; it is not equivalent to presidential protection from criminal jurisdiction.
3. The argument that “the people should decide” does not eliminate constitutional safeguards.
Democracy is not simply about winning elections. It is also about creating constitutional rules that prevent excessive concentration of power and guarantee regular opportunities for leadership change.
If someone was fundamentally uncomfortable with the constitutional principle of presidential term limits, a legitimate question arises: why seek the presidency under a constitutional system that already establishes those limits?
You cannot accept the rules when seeking power and then demand that the rules be changed because you have become comfortable in power.
And when political supporters argue, explicitly or implicitly, that one individual must remain in office because there is supposedly no other person capable of leading the country or the party, we should pause.
Zambia has millions of citizens. Are we really saying that among all our people, there are no other capable Zambians?
No individual should be elevated above the institutions of the Republic.
Presidents come and go. Political parties come and go. The Constitution must remain.
The purpose of term limits is not to say that a President cannot perform a third term well. The principle is that no individual should be allowed to occupy the presidency indefinitely simply because they remain popular or because their supporters believe nobody else is capable.
Leadership must ultimately be bigger than one person.
We should build institutions that survive leaders, not institutions that depend on leaders.
That is why comparing the presidency directly with the office of councillor, MP or mayor without considering the very different powers, immunities and constitutional responsibilities of those offices misses the central issue.
Andrew Mutila
Munali Constituency Parliamentary Candidate,
2026 General Election.