RISE AND STOP HICHILEMA’S SCHEME TO CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION AND PERPETUATE HIS STAY IN OFFICE
Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s desperate agenda to change the Constitution to perpetuate his stay in office may mark the beginning of the end for him.
This agenda he is starting will lose him even the little support he has. It is a very dangerous and unwise trip he is embarking on. Here, he will face the real fight and his Waterloo.
In brief, Mr Hichilema wants to:
– remove the 50%+1 to revert to First Past the post electoral system to avoid a rerun, which he fears he can’t win
– remove the 5-year presidential term of office and introduce a 7-year presidential term of office
– abolition of presidential Running Mate clause and reintroduce the appointment of the Vice-President to increase his powers, dominance, and patronage
The Minister of Justice, Mr Mulambe Haimbe, in September this year, announced that the government had embarked on the process to amend the Republican Constitution in a phased process, which would include:
1. the first phase- Government would attend to what he termed as “non-contentious” issues
2. the second phase – would involve the holding of a referendum on the Bill of Rights
3. the third phase would involve the government undertaking a holistic review of the Constitution.
Over the Constitution, Mr Hichilema must be opposed to the maximum in both the hot waters and the cool salons of political manipulation.
On this one, Mr Hichilema is testing the depth of the sea with both legs. He will face unseen resistance and rejection from the general public and literally all stakeholders in the country.
No section of the Zambian society will accept the perpetuation of his tyranny, corruption, tribalism, puppetry, manipulation, and deceit through the back door. He is the most dishonest, unpatriotic, and divisive president so far, and nobody would want him for 7 years and beyond.
Let him just accept that his time is up and that any attempts to force things will be too big a risk for him and his government.
It will backfire badly!
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party