Zambia's Catholic bishops raise concerns over lack of public participation in constitutional amendment process

Members of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) have disapproved the revised amendment Bill No. 7 of 2025 which seeks to amend the Southern African nation’s Constitution, calling for “a genuinely inclusive process” involving the voices of all stakeholders. In their Wednesday, October 1 statement, the Catholic Bishops in Zambia say that the Bill that was slated to be reintroduced in the country’s National Assembly for debate on Thursday, September 2 remains undemocratic in its current form because citizens were not fully involved in its formulation. [ . . . ] The Bill proposes significant changes to the Constitution of Zambia, primarily focusing on the composition and electoral system of the National Assembly, and local government structures. Key changes include the expansion of constituency-based seats, the introduction of a mixed-member proportional representation system, and the removal of term limits for mayors and council chairpersons. In the statement, the Bishops say that the changes as proposed are not “non-contentious” issues, as claimed by all proponents of Bill No. 7, but rather matters of deep national significance that demand broad-based consensus and public ownership.
Read the full article here: aciafrica