By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Critics have condemned the approval on Thursday by President Hakainde Hichilema constitutional changes expanding Zambia’s parliamentary seats, just eight months to the Southern African nation’s presidential election.
They said move will favour Hichilema’s governing party in the national election taking place August 2026.
The constitutional amendments increase the number of parliamentarian seats from 167 to about 280 by creating more constituencies, reserving 40 new seats for women, youth and persons with disabilities, and allowing the President appoint 11 members instead of eight previously.
Critics including the local Catholic Church say the changes ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections were hastily passed.
President Hichilema, who will run for a second term in the 2026 election at a ceremony marking the official signing of the amendments said they were being made in good faith and there was adequate consultation before being effected.
He has previously argued that some constituencies were too large for effective service delivery and should be divided into smaller ones.
Hichilema’s party could use the constitutional changes to its advantage in the coming elections, Reuters quoted civil rights’ activist Brebner Changala as saying.
“The main desire is to entrench power by doing more delimitation in the ruling party’s strongholds,” Changala said.
Some opposition figures have also faulted the move to increase the number of members of parliament at a time when the country is still emerging from a protracted debt crisis.
