CIVIL SOCIETY PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO DRAFT ELECTORAL BILL

CIVIL SOCIETY PROPOSES AMENDMENTS TO DRAFT ELECTORAL BILL

Civil society organisations have jointly submitted proposed amendments to the Electoral Commission of Zambia regarding the draft Electoral Process (Amendment) Bill, 2026.

A key proposal is a new clause mandating political parties to conduct internal democratic elections for the selection of candidates on proportional representation lists, as required by Article 60 of the Constitution.

Furthermore, they propose that party lists must include candidates drawn from all ten provinces of Zambia to ensure national inclusivity and regional balance.

The organisations have also proposed that in addition to the quota and highest remainder system proposed by the Commission for allocation of seats, the Bill must introduce a minimum threshold of 0.15 to 0.20 percent for political parties qualifying for a seat under the Proportional respresentation system.

The CSOs have also proposed the renaming of the draft legislation to accurately reflect its regulation of both electoral processes and electoral systems.

They express concern that the bill’s removal of a fixed three-month campaign period grants excessive discretion to the Electoral Commission.

The submissions propose refining the definition of “adoption certificate” to prevent it from becoming an unconstitutional qualification.

They further recommend replacing all references to “Secretary General” with “authorised office bearer” to respect internal party structures.

A significant concern is the undefined term “democratically determined list,” which they propose defining with specific reference to constitutional democratic principles.

The organisations advocate for statutory timelines, notably a 48-hour publication deadline for nomination information to uphold constitutional challenge rights.

They propose amendments to prevent candidates for mayor or council chairperson from also appearing on proportional representation party lists.

The submissions call for clear thresholds for rectifying non-compliant party lists and mandatory written reasons for any rejection.

They argue that several procedural timelines in the bill, such as the 14-day period for publishing party lists, must be shortened to comply with the constitution.

The collective submissions were made by the Media Initiative for Women in Zambia, Alliance for Accountability Advocates, Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation, Southern African Centre for Construction Resolution of Disputes, Centre for Peace Research and Advocacy, Action Institute Policy Analysis Centre, Zambia Civil Liberties Union, Alliance for Community Action, Governance Elections Advocates & Research Services, Operation Young Vote, Bloggers of Zambia, Peoples Initiative Charter, and Resilient Youth for Change.