Constitution of zambia, 1991 an act to provide for a new constitution of the republic of zambia and to repeal the constitution of zambia act, 1973, and the constitution scheduled thereto, and to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing. Constitution of zambia amendment bill plots against the. In particular, a new constitution has been drafted but not yet ratified, including provisions for. On this page you can read or download new zambian constitution 2016 pdf in pdf format. It came into force through the zambia independence orderincouncil. Constitution of zambia act 2016 national assembly of zambia. This paper therefore supports the view that the new constitution should be adopted by a broadly based constituent assembly, followed by century. Government urges zambians living in diaspora to apply for dual citizenship. The new government embarked on major reforms to fulfil campaign promises, including constitutional reforms and measures to fight corruption and open up the media.
The ceremony passed the provisions whose amendment does not require referendum, leaving the bill of rights and the amendment clause to undergo the mandatory referendum expected to bring to an end the 40year struggle to enact a people driven constitution that enjoys both legitimacy. Zambian leader edgar lungu signed into law constitutional changes setting new rules for general elections on aug. The vice president and the cabinet are appointed by the president from the national assembly. Download zambias new constitution as amended elias. The 1996 constitution provides for an executive president, who is head of state and commanderinchief of the armed forces. Zambias new municipal constitution reiterates the 2012. These topic pages provide a quick overview and easy access to all content that can be found on ace for any give topic of interest weather encyclopaedia files, electoral materials, comparative data, consolidated replies, case studies, or other.
Persons entitled to apply to be registered as citizens 1 any person who a has attained the age of twentyone years. On 5 january 2016 president edgar lungu signed zambias new constitution with much fanfare and pomp. The constitution of zambia amendment bill, 2016 memorandum the object of this bill is to amend the constitution of zambia so as to a revise the bill of rights to include civil, political. In the 2016 amended constitution, however, an attempt was further made to try and consolidate the chiluba era idea when a clause was included in the zambian constitution to the effect that the litunga, king of barotseland, would no longer have powers to dethrone or enthrone chiefs in western province barotseland. This is just an act of parliament that has made amendments changes to the 1991 constitution. Constitution of zambia, in this act referred to as the constitution. He assented to the new constitution on 5 january, 2016.
Article 63 2 of the constitution is amended by the deletion of paragraphs d and e. Government of zambia act national assembly of zambia. Among other changes, the new document permits dual citizenship and sets a date for the next elections. A new constitution for zambia must provide important safeguards to ensure public accountability, responsiveness to the electorate, participation of the people in. They, however, differ on the process to be employed in developing a new constitution and on the content of the constitution. Amendment of constitution of zambia act, 1991, and schedule thereto cap. In re certification of the constitution of the republic of south africa 1996 4 sa 744 cc. Prior constitutions include the 1964 independence constitution, the 1973 constitution and the 1991 constitution. Constitution of zambia amendment 2016act no 2 as you can see from the title and provisions, this is not a new constitution. If you dont see any interesting for you, use our search form on bottom v. A constitutional referendum was held in zambia on 11 august 2016 alongside general elections, a move designed to reduce the cost of the referendum. In the last fifty years, zambia has engaged in numerous efforts to develop a new constitution. Designing a process around intervening national elections is a choice worthy of note, in particular in how it provides democratic upstream and downstream constraints on the constitutionmaking process.
Once again, we wish to implore the king of barotseland, the bre and the entire barotse fraternity to outrightly reject the proposed constitution as they may one day wake up to a barotseland further divided at the pleasure of the zambian president. I have over the years been following the history of the zambian constitution and i consider the 2916 constitution to be very progressive. Hitherto, successive zambian governments had exercised a selective acceptance of constitution recommendations through the white paper, thereby defying popular sovereignty and. Please note that the constitution is not necessarily a new constitution but is an amendment of the 1991 constitution.
History of zambian constitution zambia daily nation. The most recent change occurred in 2016 and witnessed the repeal of almost all parts of the constitution except the bill of rights, which requires a referendum. A copy of the constitution of zambia amendment bill 2019 can be found here. History of zambian constitutionpart v zambia daily nation. Proposed 19 constitution amendment zambian democracy. A guiding question for each lesson is included below each section. Voters were asked whether they approve of proposed amendments to the bill of rights and article 79, which dictates the process of future amendments although 71% of voters voted in favour of the amendments, turnout was only 44%, below the 50%. On this page you can read or download new zambian constitution 2016 in pdf format.
If you dont see any interesting for you, use our search form on. This will represent an average of a new constitution every eight years. Constitution of the united states of america bill of. Its unlikely zambia will have new constitution before. A person born in or outside zambia after the commencement of this constitution shall become a citizen of zambia at the date of his birth if on that date at least one of his parents is a citizen of zambia. Zambia s constitution of 1991 with amendments through 2016. Amendment of constitution of zambia act, 1991 and schedule thereto except as provided under this act, the constitution of zambia act, 1991, and the consitution in the schedule thereto, are amended in so far as they form part of the laws of zambia.
Introduction zambia is in the process of amending its constitution for the fifth time since independence in 1964. In addition, there has been significant constitutional amendments, including those of. This act may be cited as the constitution of zambia amendment act, 2016, and shall be read as one with the constitution of zambia, in this act referred to as the constitution. Constitution of zambia amendment national assembly of zambia. Responsibility united party for national development. He said that a new overhaul of the constitution needed a referendum that would be to costly if it werent held alongside elections to cut the costs. Zambias constitution of 1991 with amendments through 2016.
The constitution of zambia act, 1991 and the constitution in the schedule to that act, are repealed in so far as they form part of the laws of zambia. This act may be cited as the constitution of zambia act, 2016. The constitution of zambia act, 1996 by the zambian for. The constitution making process debate has been among the highly controversial and unending subjects on the zambian political front with no clarity on the roadmap so far. The constitution is amended bythe repeal of the preamble.
This is the supreme law of the land and any laws inconsistent with the constitution are null and void. Subject to this act, the constitution shall come into operation on the date of assent by the president. This is why it is called the constitution of zambia amendment act of 2016. Relations act and article 233 of the constitution of zambia lists what form of discrimination is. The wave of democratisation that swept through southern africa in the early 1990s also resulted in a new democratic constitution coming into force in zambia in 1991. Following the dissolution of the federation in 1963, a new constitution based on the westminster model and designed to resolve the conflicting interests of the indigenous africans, the settler white community and the colonial government was negotiated by the major stakeholders. Resources guide explore the links in the text of the constitution below to discover a variety of relevant, classroom ready, lessons and activities from the bill of rights institute. Here is the amended constitution signed by edgar lungu on january 5, 2016. Zambias new municipal constitution reiterates the 2012 bnc resolutionsrelease all barotseland political prisoners from zambian jails by bnfa publicity wing to those who are still in doubt or pretend to be not in the know, zambias new municipal constitution. The president is limited to a maximum of two fiveyear terms. The constitution of zambia was formally adopted in 1991 and amended in 2009 and last amended in 2016 references. I would like the readers to note that zambia did not draft and enact a new constitution at attainment of independence, but, the northern rhodesia constitution was amended to meet the aspirations of the people of the new republic of zambia. On this page you can read or download zambian constitution 2016 pdf download in pdf format.