NO! To removal of Presidential term limits – George Mtonga writes:
I have listened to the arguments in Parliament for removing presidential term limits, and so far, I am unimpressed.
Here is the question I would put to some of our proportional representation MPs. If this same Parliament were sitting today and Edgar Lungu were President, would you be pounding your chests for the removal of term limits? Judging by the arguments I have heard, I doubt it.
If you genuinely believe Zambia would be better off without presidential term limits, make that case. Explain how the country would benefit, and make an argument you would still stand by if your fiercest political opponent occupied State House. The debate already assumes that President Hakainde Hichilema would even want to serve for 15 years. The Constitution will govern Zambia long after his presidency.
We cannot play Russian roulette with the future of the Republic. When MPs feel that their political survival or livelihood depends on taking a particular position, Zambians have every right to ask whose interests they are defending. A constitutional change of this magnitude must be put directly to the Zambian people. The final decision belongs to them.
As a private citizen, if the arguments I have heard in Parliament were the only ones put before me, MY VOTE WOULD BE NO. KEEP PRESIDENTIAL TERM LIMITS.
So far, nobody in Parliament has made a case for removing them that I can stand behind.