PF Expels MPs Over Bill 7 Vote as Leadership Dispute Complicates Enforcement

PF Expels MPs Over Bill 7 Vote as Leadership Dispute Complicates Enforcement

The Patriotic Front (PF) has announced the expulsion of all its Members of Parliament who voted in favour of Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7, citing defiance of party instructions and what it describes as a betrayal of the Zambian people.

The decision was announced on Thursday by PF Acting President Given Lubinda during a media briefing in Lusaka, shortly after President Hakainde Hichilema assented to the bill.

Lubinda stated that the party had issued a three-line whip directing all PF MPs to vote against Bill 7 and to ensure that a “No” vote was formally recorded during proceedings in the National Assembly. He said the directive was clear, lawful, and communicated repeatedly to members of parliament.

According to Lubinda, PF leadership held at least eight engagement meetings with its MPs ahead of the vote. He added that the party’s national chairperson, Jean Kapata, publicly reiterated the directive during a press briefing on the eve of the vote, which was broadcast live and reported in the print media.

“No member of parliament can claim not to have heard the directive,” Lubinda said.

Constitutional Court ruling cited

Lubinda anchored the expulsions on the Constitutional Court ruling in Celestine Mukandila and Monia Zulu v Attorney General (Case No. 2025-CCZ-009), which found that the government’s initiation of the constitutional amendment process was inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution.

He said the court ruled that beginning the amendment process without wide public consultation violated several constitutional provisions, including Articles 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 61, 90, 91 and 92.

Lubinda stated that the court guided that any constitutional amendment process must be people-driven, led by an independent body of experts, and grounded in broad and meaningful consultations with citizens.
Despite that guidance, he said Parliament proceeded with Bill 7, which was later passed and assented to.

Division list dispute

Lubinda also criticised the National Assembly for failing to release the official division list showing how MPs voted on Bill 7, four days after the vote.

He said parliamentary practice requires the division list to be published within 24 hours, arguing that the delay undermines accountability and transparency.

“Members of parliament are accountable to the electorate, and the electorate has a right to know how their representatives voted,” Lubinda said.

He called on Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti to immediately release the division list, stating that parliamentary proceedings are public and that voting records cannot be lawfully concealed.

Lubinda added that the PF already knows which of its MPs were present in the chamber and how they voted, regardless of the delayed publication of the official record.

Immediate expulsions announced

Lubinda announced that all PF MPs who voted in favour of Bill 7 had been expelled from the party with immediate effect.

“This decision is final and irreversible,” he said.

He added that all PF structures across the country had been directed to take formal notice of the changed status of the affected MPs.

Lubinda said MPs who absented themselves from the vote were not automatically considered to have endorsed the bill, stating that the party hoped those decisions were made in good faith and in line with the will of the electorate.

Enforcement tied to recognised leadership

However, the practical enforcement of the expulsions remains uncertain due to unresolved questions surrounding the recognised leadership of the Patriotic Front.

Under parliamentary practice, the Speaker of the National Assembly acts on formal communication from the legally recognised leadership of a political party when considering matters such as loss of party membership and the status of MPs.

In the PF’s case, the leadership dispute centres on the party presidency, with Chabinga currently holding himself out as party president without having been elected through a national convention, the traditional mechanism for leadership selection under PF structures.

As a result, any communication to the Speaker regarding expulsions may be contested unless it is issued by leadership that is formally recognised in law.

This situation places the expulsions within a broader legal and institutional dispute, rather than a straightforward parliamentary process.

Political position maintained

Lubinda said the PF was prepared to proceed politically regardless of the consequences, stating that the party would rather operate without MPs it considers to have acted against the people’s will.

He instructed party structures to begin identifying potential candidates to stand on the PF ticket in the 2026 general elections.

He also called on opposition political parties to remain united in defending constitutionalism and the rule of law.

While the Patriotic Front has asserted its political position by expelling MPs who supported Bill 7, the effectiveness of that decision ultimately turns on the unresolved question of party ownership and lawful leadership. With the PF presidency itself under dispute and the courts yet to conclusively determine who holds legitimate authority over the party, the expulsions remain politically significant but legally contested. Until the judiciary settles the question of who rightfully controls the Patriotic Front, actions taken in the party’s name are likely to continue facing institutional and legal uncertainty.