GUEST: Bill 7 passes Parliament — but Zambia’s constitutional battle is moving from the chamber to the courts
By: Thomas Moyo
Zambia’s Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 7 has cleared Parliament after 135 MPs voted “Yes” at Third Reading, with no “No” votes and none recorded absent, satisfying the two-thirds threshold. Speaker Nelly Mutti ruled the threshold met; the Bill now goes to President Hakainde Hichilema for assent, and Parliament has adjourned sine die.
Government is framing the vote as a democratic breakthrough. Yet the clean sweep has sharpened, not quieted, a deeper legitimacy question: whether “winning the numbers” is enough for a constitutional rewrite that fundamentally redraws representation, electoral incentives and executive–legislature relations.
That controversy is grounded in the Constitutional Court’s June 27, 2025 judgment, which upheld a petition and faulted the State for initiating the amendment process before wide consultations, saying this ran against the spirit of the Constitution and directing a people-driven process led by an independent body of experts. In December, the Court also rebuffed an attempt to launch contempt proceedings linked to Bill 7’s reintroduction, with Judge J.Z. Mulongoti describing the application as “misconceived” and procedurally misplaced after the main matter had been disposed of.
Rather than ending the legal dispute, the vote may escalate it. The Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, has asked the Court to vacate its earlier position, arguing that while public participation is essential, initiation need not follow only one model — and that consultations could be pursued through mechanisms prescribed by Parliament.
Substantively, the Bill’s defenders argue it modernises governance through a mixed electoral model to boost representation for women, youth and persons with disabilities. Critics counter that the “inclusion” pitch masks centralising effects. Transparency International Zambia warns the package expands Parliament while increasing presidential influence, weakening accountability and reducing transparency around delimitation and by-election rules. ConstitutionNet’s analysis similarly flags the scale of expansion (including 156 to 211 constituency seats) and concerns about cost, transparency and incentives in a constrained economy.
Internationally, the passage is already being read through a governance lens: Bloomberg notes investor attention is colliding with civil-society warnings that the changes risk consolidating power ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
With assent looming, Bill 7’s defining test is no longer just arithmetic in the House — it is whether the reform can command public trust and survive the constitutional scrutiny it has repeatedly invited.