from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – THE official opposition in Zambia is in disarray.
This after its legislators defied the party stance and voted in favour of a contentious bill introducing several significant changes to the Constitution, aimed at electoral reform and local governance.
The Patriotic Front (PF) is shell-shocked after 30 of its legislators voted alongside the ruling in favour of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 7 at the National Assembly, in defiance of the official party line.
The bill has passed through Parliament and now awaits presidential assent. It is a foregone conclusion President Hakainde Hichilema will sign it into law.
In a dramatic turn of events on Monday, Zambia’s increasingly tense political atmosphere, somewhat, 135 members of parliament (MPs) voted in favour of the bill. There were no votes against and no abstentions recorded during the final vote (Third Reading).
The outcome suggests it is the most endorsed bill post-independence.
PF, eager to regain power in the 2026 elections, had been unanimous that its legislators would oppose the bill. There were even claims by some in the party that some parliamentarians from the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) of Hichilema would vote to reject the bill.
Riled by the outcome that has been inspired partly by its legislators has turned against its MPS, with allegations that they have accepted bribes to the tune of K3 million (US129 490) from the government.
PF further accuses its MPs of “betraying” Zambia.
In a dramatic meltdown, it has been listing on its social media, MPs that it makes these accusations against.
It is akin to a name-and-shame project.
Musonda Emmanuel Mpankanta, the National Chairperson of a PF faction is listed among those, though his position is disputed amid internal party turmoil.
The bill introduces proposes an expanded Parliament, with MPs to increase from 156 to 211, a mixed-member proportional representation system, removal of the two-term limit for mayors and council chairpersons and alignment of the terms of Parliament and councils to a unified five-year period
The ruling UPND is in a celebratory mood.
Mark Simuuwe, party spokesperson, lauded MPs for “rising above partisan interests and choosing the national good over political convenience.”
“You affirmed that the Constitution of Zambia belongs to all citizens and must evolve to reflect the country’s democratic aspirations and future needs,” he said.
Hichilema described the bill as one of the most topical and consequential issues of modern-day Zambia, one that he said had tested the strength of domestic democracy and the unity of the nation.
“The greatest winners in this process are the people of Zambia and our democracy itself,” he said.
“The people have spoken through their duly elected representatives, and as a nation committed to democratic principles, we must respect both the outcome and the collective resolve it represents.”
Regardless of the outcome at the National Assembly, this is an unprecedented moment for Zambia.
The Constitutional Court, in June 2025, declared the bill unconstitutional for failing to meet the requirement for wide public consultation.
The government then initiated a broader consultation process through a technical committee and the amended Bill was presented to the National Assembly for reconsideration, where it has subsequently been passed.
If the PF MPs defying the party’s stance in the bill is anything to go by, the PF faces an uphill task regaining the power it lost to UPND in 2021.
General elections in the Southern African country are scheduled for August 2026. The proceedings in Parliament were a dress rehearsal for the poll.
Despite its criticism suggesting Hichilema and UPND are increasingly dictatorial, PF is factionalised.
Around ten candidates aim for the vacant position of president. A convention to elect a substantive president has stalled. A faction led by Robert Chabinga claims the party presidency but has endorsed Hichilema for the 2026 general election.
Former president of the party and country, Edgar Lungu, had bounced back to lead PF, but died in June in South Africa.
In any case, Zambia’s Constitutional Court Lungu is ineligible to run in the 2026 presidential elections.
– CAJ News