BILL 7 IS A DIRECT ATTACK ON ZAMBIA’S DEMOCRACY AND MUST BE REJECTED
Bill 7 is not a constitutional amendment. It is not a reform. It is not a modernisation of governance. Bill 7 is a calculated assault on Zambia’s democracy and a deliberate attempt to centralise political power in the hands of one individual and one party. Every patriotic citizen must stand up and oppose it.
This Bill represents the most dangerous threat to our constitutional order since independence. It seeks to rewrite the rules of our democracy in ways that undermine the will of the people, weaken Parliament and place the presidency above every institution in this country.
The first dangerous provision is the proposal to allow the President to appoint fifty members of Parliament. No democratic nation allows a Head of State to handpick a battalion of MPs who owe their loyalty not to the people but to the President who appoints them. This is political corruption written into law. It will give the President unchecked power to amend the Constitution, remove term limits, abolish the 50+1 rule, and impose any legal changes that consolidate his power.
The second alarming feature is the manipulation of constituency delimitation. The proposals are opaque and suspicious. There is no transparency on which constituencies will be increased, merged, or eliminated. Yet there are strong indications that the intention is to multiply constituencies in specific strongholds to give one party a permanent numerical advantage. This is gerrymandering. It is tribal arithmetic. It is an attack on fairness and equality. No nation survives when constitutional boundaries are drawn to favour some citizens and punish others.
Most chilling of all is the clause that gives the President the power to fire an elected Member of Parliament and replace them without a by-election. This provision alone is proof that Bill 7 was crafted to weaken Parliament and silence dissent. It turns MPs into frightened spectators who cannot challenge the President for fear of instant removal. It undermines the sovereignty of the people who voted them into office. It makes elections meaningless if the President can simply replace elected leaders with his own appointees.
The Bill further seeks to centralise land administration under the state, weakening the authority of traditional leaders and exposing communities to dispossession. Zambia’s land belongs to its people. It is a cultural, economic, and ancestral asset that cannot be subjected to political manipulation. Centralising land control in this manner opens dangerous doors for exploitation by foreign interests and political elites.
Bill 7 is not a reform document. It is a silent coup. It is a structured attempt to tilt the entire governance system toward one centre of power. If enacted, this Bill will cripple democratic institutions, destroy legislative independence, and create a presidency that is untouchable by the people.
We must resist this attempt to hijack our Republic. We must protect our Constitution from those who seek to weaken it for personal political gain. Zambia belongs to all of us, and it’s not going to be a good place for any of us to live in if it is not a good place for all of us to live in.
Dr Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party