ESARP

State of democracy

Formal checks and balances in Zambian democracy remain limited due to an extremely powerful executive and a relatively limited mandate for Parliament. Within this legal set-up, it is difficult for Parliament to truly hold the government accountable. The year 2007 provided a window of opportunity to address the legal framework of Zambian democracy. A constitutional review procedure was agreed upon that will enable debate over the fundamental principles of Zambian democracy, such as the power balance within the political system, the electoral system and the Bill of Rights.

However, the government and a major (umbrella) non-governmental organization had both developed a roadmap for constitutional reform and were fighting each other over the procedures to be followed. With help of the Zambian Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID), an NIMD partner, a compromise was eventually reached, paving the way for the constitutional reform process in Zambia.

Balanced political landscape

Although the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) won the elections in 2006, the political landscape was more balanced throughout 2007 than before thanks to the sound electoral performance of the Patriotic Front (PF). The situation also stimulated both parties to continue to maintain close contact with their constituencies.

Pseudo parties

Civil society organizations have long pushed the agenda for constitutional reform and were seen by many as ‘pseudo-political parties’. When political parties, with input from NIMD, reached an agreement over this crucial issue, various NGOs saw their power base and donor support threatened.

NIMD Programme

Improving the political system

To break the impasse over the constitutional reform process (see above), all parties organized internal party consultations on this matter. Subsequently, the ZCID Board – which is composed of the Secretary Generals of the member parties – engaged in a process of interparty dialogue for fifteen consecutive days in order to define a compromise.

ZCID also organized a high-level, interparty visit to South Africa to discuss the constitutional reform process that had taken place there.

Strengthening the political parties

In 2007 the NIMD/ZCID programme continued providing support to parliamentary parties in order to enhance their management capacity. A stronger emphasis was placed on improving internal financial management, administration and project management capacity.

Evaluation

An external evaluation of the NIMD/ZCID programme was undertaken in October. The programme framework was assessed positively, but the evaluators noted that additional work needed to be done in such areas as the bilateral support to political parties and in the institutional aspects of the ZCID.

Multiparty cooperation
After years of informal cooperation the Zambian Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID), a platform established by parliamentary parties and two non-parliamentary parties, was formally launched in June 2007.

Political parties break deadlock on constitutional reform

On 26 June the leadership of all political parties, including the main political opponents President Mwanawasa and opposition leader Michael Sata, met to discuss – and agree on - a joint position over the constitutional reform process.

Even the most critical journalists reported positively about the fact that parties were apparently able to work together in order to strengthen the framework of Zambian democracy. The leaders of all major parties had been brought together by their Secretary Generals, who had been working together on numerous (less sensitive) programmes for quite some years. The political agreement was a sound example of the possibilities and advantages of interparty cooperation.

Most of the elements within the proposed agreement were taken over by the Minister of Justice and presented to Parliament. However, it became clear at a later stage that some key actors, notably churches, with a historic role in Zambian democracy felt – and actually were – underrepresented within the NCC. Their lobby resulted in the withdrawal of Patriotic Front’s commitment to the agreement. However, once the NCC was installed, quite a number of PF supporters did participate. Negotiations were still ongoing at the end of the year to get all actors more involved in the reform process and increase its legitimacy.