By Given Mutinta
RELEASE THE ELECTORAL DELIMITATION REPORT
President Hakainde Hichilema is aggressively advancing a divisive Bill 7 that could potentially to cause anarchy. Among other provisions, it seeks to establish 55 new constituencies, purportedly to address disparities resulting from population growth.
But people are apprehensive because he does not want to release the underlying delimitation report that shows the current population numbers for each constituency. This data would help people understand why the proposed redrawing of boundaries is being made.
This hesitance is one of the reasons people are saying the delimitation exercise is a political ploy, strategically deployed to entrench President Hichilema’s hegemony rather than to ensure equity based on the current demographic reality.
The lack of transparency in this process is not only a serious issue for good governance; it is also damaging to the integrity of democracy.
If there is nothing clandestine about the creation of 55 new seats, the delimitation report for the creation of those seats must be made public.
Citizens want to see the delimitation report as the evidence base, outlining which areas are overpopulated and thus warrant division.
President Hichilema’s failure to make this data available to the public fuels suspicions that his government is doctoring population statistics and the delimitation effort is politically motivated rather than population-driven.
He is afraid to release the delimitation report, most likely because constituencies in opposition strongholds with demonstrably high population density have been overlooked in favour of areas in UPND strongholds with slower population growth, confirming that the delimitation process is intended to cement President Hichilema and his party’s hegemony.
Let him release the report for civil society organizations, opposition parties, and citizens to verify whether the delimitation truly aims for equity or for electoral advantage.
As a result of diminished trust in President Hichilema due to perceptions of lying, citizens are concerned that President Hichilema will use the creation of 55 new seats to disproportionately benefit his regional strongholds by drawing boundaries that concentrate opposition voters in fewer, larger constituencies while spreading ruling party supporters across multiple, smaller, winnable constituencies.
Based on the reluctance to publish the report, it is plausible that the data indicates that regions already regarded as strongholds of the ruling party are not the most densely populated but are nonetheless targeted for delimitation, raising concerns of potential political gerrymandering.
Without the delimitation report, how can citizens verify that the demographic metric is being applied uniformly or that delimitation favours constituencies with high population densities to promote equity rather than merely reinforcing President Hichilema’s political dominance?
If President Hichilema insists on creating new constituencies based on population size yet appears hesitant to provide population distribution statistics, it suggests an intentional withholding of information that could show partisan objectives, which is one of the reasons Bill 7 should be rejected.
The legitimacy of the 55 new seats hinges entirely on correcting existing imbalances not creating new politically advantageous for the ruling party.
If he was transparent to release the delimitation report, the process would have allowed for public debate on the methodology: focusing purely on raw population numbers, or whether factors like geographical size, community cohesion, and infrastructure accessibility also play a role?
Without the delimitation report, the public is forced to conclude that the process is designed by President Hichilema for his own political gain, undermining democracy.
The successful integration of Bill 7 into Zambian law requires more than legislative approval; it demands public confidence. President Hichilema’s administration must understand that withholding the delimitation report, which details population metrics and proposed boundary changes, severely jeopardizes this confidence. Transparency in electoral boundaries is crucial for upholding democratic fairness.
The demand for Evidence of flawed Clauses in Bill 7.
In Matthew 16:2-3 we read ” When evening comes, it will be fair weather, for the sky is ready.
And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering.O you Hypocrites , you can discern the face of the Sky ; but you can’t discern the sugns of the times”.
We know what Bill 7 is all about, you Hopeless Hypocrites … Regional Hegemony of the Sacred 3 , by the Sacred 3 and for the Sacred 3.
A Crooked Man in my village went to buy Pigs from the neighbours . The neighbors had 10 pigs.The Crooked Man knew that 3 Pigs had mysteriously been made pregnant based on a fake Investigation done by himself, which he kept secret , all to him self, by himself and for himself . From this cooked data the Crooked Business man, knew he could get 8, 12, and 13 piglets from each pig upon their giving birth on 13th August, 2026.
He told the ignorant Neighbors to sell him the 3 Pigs , which he claimed were even sick looking at how lazy they looked..They could die any time if they were not sold, to him , NOW.
The Crooked Business man convinced the ignorant Neighbors , and some he bribed , and despite protests , the crooked business man bought the Pigs .
At an appointed time, the pigs gave him 33 piglets..and he went on to become the richest man in the village, controlling everything for generations..as the neighbors looked with their 7 Thin Pigs.
Whoever has eyes let him see
Whoever has ears let him hear
What the NKUKU Man is saying…
Release the Delimitation Report NOW
Tell the Country how the 55 additional Constituency Parliamentary seats will be spread in the Country!
You think you can fool the NKUNKU Man ????
Delimitation is meant to put more developments in vast constituencies not fragmenting already small constituencies even when they are densely populated. National development is concentrated in urban areas. The rural constituencies which happen to be very vast received less funding. That is one of the reasons MPs in those constituencies do not reach all the parts of the constituencies. People are complaining for lack of representation. Those are the ones that need delimitation. Some people only see politics or regionalism instead of facing the plain facts. With this kind of thinking vast urban development and start rural development ral constituencies will remain underdeveloped unless government deliberately halts urban development in preference for rural development. Maybe creating a new ministry of rural development.
Delimitation is meant to put more developments in vast constituencies not fragmenting already small constituencies even when they are densely populated. National development is concentrated in urban areas. The rural constituencies which happen to be very vast received less funding. That is one of the reasons MPs in those constituencies do not reach all the parts of the constituencies. People are complaining of lack of representation. Those are the ones that need delimitation. Some people only see politics or regionalism instead of facing the plain facts. With this kind of thinking vast urban constituencies will remain underdeveloped unless government deliberately halts urban development in preference for rural development. Maybe creating a new ministry of rural development.