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Govt's excuse on constitution can't hold - Sikota

Govt's excuse on constitution can't hold - Sikota
By George Chellah
Thursday May 10, 2007 [04:00]

UNITED Liberal Party (ULP) president Sakwiba Sikota yesterday urged the government to desist from using embarrassing excuses on the constitution-making process. Commenting on a joint statement issued by Minister of Justice George Kunda and Information Minister Mike Mulongoti that, by electing the MMD Zambians had endorsed its plan and roadmap that was well articulated at various fora, Sikota yesterday advised the government against using shameful excuses over the process.

"That excuse cannot stand...If they are looking at this matter as a referendum because of the last elections then they have no mandate. They don't have the mandate to implement," Sikota said. "Let them stop trying to use the last elections as a reason because they would be terribly embarrassed. Let them not use that as an excuse because when you add the total opposition vote and you compare it to the MMD, then they lost.

"So even if it's going by their reasoning, still the Zambian people rejected their plan because the opposition added together got more votes than the MMD."

He said it was possible to have a new constitution adopted by a constituent assembly without having to make amendments.

"If we want to make whatever comes out of the constituent assembly legally binding, then we have to amend the Constitution. But if as a people we morally and politically agree that whatever comes out of the constituent assembly will bind us, then we can still have the new constitution adopted by a constituent assembly without having to amend the current Constitution."

Sikota said there was need for commitment from all stakeholders.
"What we need is a commitment from everybody, both the government and the other side. Lets not put up hurdles, lets put up solutions," he said.

He said there was hope to have the new constitution in place.
"When we meet at the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) summit, we in ULP have a plan as to how we can get out of this seeming impasse," Sikota said. "As ULP we have very positive things we are going to suggest to the summit of presidents that has been organised by the ZCID."

Sikota said it was possible to have the constituent assembly according to the way the Zambian people want.

"We are artistic enough to be able to suggest the way forward. Lets look at solutions and not providing hurdles on the process," he said.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, Kunda and Mulongoti said the government has put in motion its constitution-making roadmap by commencing a sample census for determination of persons entitled to vote in the intended referendum.

They said on September 28, 2006 Zambians elected and mandated the MMD to govern the country according to the manifesto and general law and had since taken oath to defend and protect the Constitution as by law established.

Labels: GEORGE KUNDA, MIKE MULONGOTI, SAKWIBA SIKOTA, ULP

posted by MrK @ 3:40 AM