PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION MPs ARE ELECTED, NOT NOMINATED –DICKSON  JERE

PR MPs ARE ELECTED, NOT NOMINATED – JERE

Prominent lawyer Dickson Jere has clarified that Members of Parliament elected through Zambia’s Proportional Representation (PR) system for women, youths and persons with disabilities should be referred to as elected MPs rather than nominated MPs.

Mr Jere said the Constitution distinguished between MPs elected through the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) system and the 11 MPs who could be nominated by the President.

He explained that under the amended Constitution, the presidential vote determines the allocation of PR seats, meaning voters indirectly participate in determining the MPs who enter Parliament through the party-list system.

“When you go and vote in a Presidential election, you are actually voting for three categories on that single ballot,” Mr Jere said.

He said the PR candidates file nominations with the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), meet the prescribed qualifications and pay the requisite fees before being declared valid.

“Under Article 71 of the Constitution, the candidates under the PR system actually files in nominations to be picked as MPs,” he said.

Mr Jere said Article 47(1) further provided that elections to the National Assembly should be conducted under the MMPR electoral system.

“Election to the National Assembly shall be conducted under Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) electoral system,” he said.

He explained that Zambia’s Parliament now comprised 226 constituency-based seats elected through the First-Past-The-Post system, 40 PR seats elected through party lists and 11 presidentially nominated MPs.

“In fact nominated MPs do not file nominations at ECZ!” Mr Jere said.

He said PR MPs were elected through a closed-list system, where parties submit lists of candidates and the names are made public after the polls, unlike open-list systems where voters know candidates before voting.

“The MPs in both system get elected albeit differently,” he said.

Mr Jere further noted that presidential votes were important in determining the number of PR seats allocated to political parties.

“The more votes the Presidential candidate gets, the more seats his party gets in Parliament,” he said.

He congratulated the candidates whose election under the PR system was validated, saying the distinction was important in understanding Zambia’s electoral framework.

Dickson Jere writes :

They Are Elected, Not Nominated
By Dickson Jere

I have seen the constant use of the term “nominated MP” under the Proportional Representation (PR) system for women, youths and disabled. The use of the word “nominated” is a misnomer. They are actually “elected” under the PR system. The Constitution only provides for the President to nominate not more than 11 Members of Parliament (MPs). The rest are elected.

Let me put context a bit.

1. Under the amended Constitution, when you go and vote in a Presidential election, you are actually voting for three categories on that single ballot. Firstly, you are voting for the President. Secondly, you are voting for the running-mate who becomes the Vice President. And thirdly, you are voting for the Members of Parliament under the PR system as the Presidential vote determine the number of seats under the PR. In fact, in other countries, the list of names of candidates on the PR system is known to the public just before election. We call that an “Open List System” so that voters know the candidates in advance. Ours is the “Closed List System”. We disclose the names after polls.

2. Under Article 71 of the Constitution, the candidates under the PR system actually files in nominations to be picked as MPs. So, what was happening yesterday was the nomination of MPs under the PR system. They must meet the qualifications and pay the requisite fees, once declared valid, they then proceed to Parliament to be sworn-in as MPs. This will probably be done next week.

3. Further guidance can be picked from Article 47(1) which clearly states that “Election to the National Assembly shall be conducted under Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) electoral system”. Mark the word “election”. Under this system, 226 are Constituency Based Seats (elected directly by voters under the First-Past-The-Post System) and 40 Proportional Representation seats elected under the party list. Then we have 11 nominated MPs who feature on their own. In fact nominated MPs do not file nominations at ECZ!

4. Let me give an example. South Africa Parliament is elected by PR system. They don’t have constituency based seats. All those MPs you see get elected to Parliament through their party list. Voters vote for political parties and not direct candidates. They then allocate seats in Parliament according to the percentage of votes obtained.

So, those youths, women and disabled we saw yesterday were actually elected and not nominated. The nominated MPs are in different category and appointed by the President in his own discretion without reference to any party list.

So, the MMPR is a mixer of two electoral systems. PR and First Past The Post System or Winner takes all. The MPs in both system get elected albeit differently.
So Presidential votes matters when it comes to our system. The more votes the Presidential candidate gets, the more seats his party gets in Parliament.

NB. The party usually have powers to recall MPs elected under the PR system and replace.

Congratulations to all those who were elected under the PR system and validated yesterday.