Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has condemned the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) for refusing to amend National Constitution Conference (NCC) but instead go ahead increasing the composition in the conference.
And the UPND has said the MMD should have amended the NCC Act to address concerns raised by other stakeholders in the constitution making process.
UPND President Hakainde Hichilema said at a press briefing in Lusaka today that his party would fight tooth and nail for what he termed a people driven constitution.
Mr. Hichilema said the UPND National Management Committee (NMC) decided on two days ago that his party should not relent in its quest for a people driven constitution in the NCC, the national referendum and parliament.
He said despite the failures in the past attempts to compel the ruling party to include all the stakeholders’ concerns in the NCC, the party would devise new methods of advocating for the constitution that would address concerns of Zambians.
He told journalists that the UPND engaged into consultative meetings with the seventh Day Adventist Church, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) Zaambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and other stakeholders I an attempt to resolve the differences in the constitutional making process.
Mr. Hichilema at the NCC, the UPND would fight for a president elected by 50 + 1 majority of the valid votes, enshrining of the election date in the constitution and independence of the Electoral Commission of Zambia which should have representation from political parties, churches and NGOs.
“The Chief Justice should not be the Returning Officer for the presidential elections, but the chairperson of the independent Electoral Commission, there should be a mixed proportional representation system of elections to parliament,†he said.
He further said the party was against a piecemeal amendment to the constitution, saying “The whole document should be subjected to a referendum after the NCC has agreed to its contentsâ€.
He also said the party would advocate that members of parliament who defected from a party should be barred from contesting for the position until after that term of office expires.
The other things the party would fight for was the entrenchment of the economic and social rights in the constitution especially the right to education, health, employment, clean water supply and decent housing.
Mr. Hichilema said the bill of rights should be amended to improve people’s rights especially of children and women.
He stressed that the Freedom of Information Bill should be clearly stated in the constitution to guarantee the freedom of the press.
“There should be funding of political parties from public resources on criteria to be agreed in order to strengthen democracy and avoid abuse of public funds by the ruling party,†he said.
The UPND leader said at parliament level, his party would endeavour to fight for what it has always advocated for.
The ruling party need at this stage to gunner two thirds majority for which it it short by 29 Members of Parliament.
He said his 22 MPs would not vote with the MMD in parliament and warned that whichever UPND MP would side with the MMD would be disciplined.
Currently, parliament comprises 73 MPs for MMD, Patriotic Front 41, UPND 22, the United Liberal Party (ULP) three and United National Independence Party (UNIP) has two.
The Forum for Democracy and Development has two MPs, the National Democratic Focus has one. There are three independent MPs in parliament.
The news does not indicate how UPND will fight for a people driven constitution. Are they partcipating in the NCC or not. How will the achieve a people driven constitution if they wont vote with the MMD in Parliament. UPND has only 22 members. A constitution requires 2/3 of affirmative votes to be amended. Nither party in parliament can attain this without the support of another party. The oppostion combined together do not amount to 2/3 in parliament. UPND should not behave like PFor MMD.
Uncle Dee
Its time these factional parties realized their operational and structural crisis. UPND like all other titular parties run in media front pages need to appreciate their shortcoming and indisputable irrelevance thus far in national politics. What shapes parties’ ability to act strategically are not such slobs.
Beyond politics, technocrats and policy analyst, we could address such disfunctionality on the arena by being realistic and offering data that overcome the shortcomings of amplified significance based on measurement error and static analysis that plague empirical research on all weak parties’ challenges and strategies in Zambia.
Policy analysts and strategists could run a series of generalized event counts to model the number of candidates each Zambian political camp is represented at national level in eleven different factor areas that build legitimacy, national representation stature and unity of purpose.
The number and structural factor in representation is a highly strategic winning decision in diverse societies, which if mishandled, result in a statistical anomaly that produce the prevalent opposition impotence: an underdispersed event count variable.
Based on the Generalized event count results, principal substantive finding would prove that these opposition parties are not as strategically capable as rhetoric hereon claims. Even when parties are willing to act as a unified strategic group, informational uncertainty leave them unable to do so.
We could also find that, despite factors in the real sense that should have mitigated against strategic capacity, all opposition parties in Zambia frequently respond to one another by seeking to take advantage of their opponents’ strategic errors. This pride in that as being savvy at Bruising politics. Shame as the circus spam them more beyond 2011.
Good lucky with your 2011 dreams
Chapi,
You can carry on impersonating the FACT ID after this one (# 9).I’m heading home in a few days time.May post a few lines hereon before Friday December 14,2007. If i don’t, Happy Holidays and blogging times.I hope you will eventually mature and one day transition in some “real Clear national role, duty, service and value”. It takes patience, determination, endurance, focus and unwavering discipline to the codes.
Good luck
# 9 are you saying you dont have access to internet at home to continue blogging. A phiri ana bwela……….
Mwaiche wandi FACT/INVESTOR
Too much of one thing is bad.There`s no way you can be blogging 24/7.Find some time to spend with your family.This is a weekend for goodness sake.
#1 LBS I agree with you. I would also add that the NCC looks like it is heading in the direction of a big horrible circus; like the infamous 3rd term debate. History has a nasty habit of repeating itself has’nt it?
I think FACT u r an MMD cadre,u seem not to appreciate the significance of opposition parties in Zambia,u claim these r titular parties but look @ yo MMD that was voted by villagers bcoz of salt u were dishing out.Shame on u
I am an ***** to draw the pipo on this blog from the topic at hand. I have no sikopo kabili ndicipuba, forgive me pipo bcoz sometime I am not my self thats why I ran away from Chainama Hills hospital
its been long since i last blogged,and i can see that we still have a couple of *****s trying to confuse things here,Investor;if u ar still breathing pliz find better use for your time than posting irrelevant materials on this blogg(like LT puts it),and big up to ‘Wanzelu’ post #13,u can say that again!
1# I totally agree with you, only Factless see the current political situation is good becoz he is MMD cadre paid for being used as a propanganda and speculation manchinery for Movement for Madarax Dealers.Factless has no heart for those perpetual suffering Zeds who have no say on Govt poor running of national resources through corruption and selfiness
Democracy will never be democracy when fewer pipo in politics are so powerful and the ruled are powerless. If the constitutional making process
If UPND does not agree with the current NCC as it stands, why oh why are they still registering their prescence at the same? Sata and some of the religious istitutions have made their stand clear and are not attending.
Contd:will be disaster and fall short of pipo expectations and aspirations.Legally LPM and his govt will be held responsible for failing to all the pipo have their say in the making process.MMD politician driven constitution is a disaster.Pipo who listen to others make good leaders and their leadership is key to good governance. A good pipo’s driven constitution will bring good governance, development,respect for human rights,equal opportunities pipos’aspirations
and balance of power.Then
Is the participation allowance of K500,000 ppd justified? later on K650,000 per night in Zambia and Lusaka for that matter. Pipo should learn to sacrifice, NCC should not be taken to be consultancy. Some characters will just be sleeping. On this one I support PF for condemning this form of ‘legal looting’ of national resources. Fact is most pipo will not be there on merit, as there is no clear criteria to select them. e.g senior citizens, etc who may be picked on partisan lines. This is theft!!
Josh Im wonder where our priorities stands.Some of us saw this coming way before the elections.pipo wanted to for a referandum then formanother forum called CA meanwhile we can’t even prevent chorela or give pipo good shelter.The song on megaphone was democracy is expensive.Ilive in the western country pipo become active into everyday affairs once their primary needs are taken care of.We shall spend all this money and then burry alot of pipo who are suppose to be protected by this constitution.
PF is certain very right, Maybe i’m just hallucinating and can’t get my head round our this un called for allowances. Do you pipo expect the out come to be pipo’s expectations. Well, though they say ” umutombwa tomya kulu” but over this constitution I have got to say the all process is corrupt and shall of waste of resouces. They are looting and laughing on those less able to protest this day light looting.The Catholic earlier informed us the nation about this and we thought it was a lie.
PF is certain very right, Maybe i’m just hallucinating and can’t get my head round this un called for allowances. Do you pipo expect the out come to be pipo’s expectations. Well, though they say ” umutombwa tomya kulu” but over this constitution I have got to say the all process is corrupt and shall of waste of resouces. They are looting and laughing on those less able to protest this day light looting.The Catholic earlier informed us the nation about this and we thought it was a lie.