ZCID calls for a meeting on the draft Political Parties Bill

Enock Tembo – PeP President

The Zambia Center for Inter party Dialogue (ZCID) has organized a stakeholders meeting to look at the draft Political Parties Bill before it is taken to parliament.

And Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) President Enock Tembo has welcomed this initiative saying this is the only way to address the many retrogressive issues in the draft.

Mr. Tembo says it is very clear that after reading the draft, there are some of the issues that need to be relooked at before it is made law.

Mr. Tembo sites that Section 23 subsection (1) of the Political Parties Bill, 2017 says “the Minister shall prescribe the matters to be included in the constitution or rules of a political party”.

He questions is why should a Minister who is ostensibly a member of the ruling party, dictate the contents of a constitution for an opposition political party.

Mr. Tembo says this must be stopped before it is too late.

He says there are other issues in the Bill that need to be relooked at before it is turned into law.