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Zambia’s opposition leader calls for 50 plus one

Zambia’s opposition leader calls for 50 plus one
Written by Lambwe Kachali and Ernest Chanda
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 4:59:25 PM

Opposition UPND president Hakainde Hichilema on Tuesday said only the 50 plus one presidential majority vote will rescue Zambia from having a mediocre republican president in 2011.

And Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) general secretary Reverend Suzanne Matale has said the Ghanaian presidential election has proved that the 50 plus one threshold is the best form of legitimatizing any elected government.

Hichilema’s remarks came in the wake of last week’s Ghana’s presidential runoff which saw opposition candidate John Atta Mills emerge victorious through the 50 plus one per cent threshold.

Hichilema said Ghana’s elections had ashamed some Zambian politicians, especially those in MMD government that had been opposing the 50 plus one per cent provision on lame grounds that it would cause violence in the country.

He said it was not a secret that once Zambia adopted the provision in the new constitution, the opposition would win the elections in 2011 general elections.

“For the opposition political party to win an election in Africa is not easy. Africa needs to congratulate Ghana. Ghanaian elections have proved that even in Zambia the 50 plus one per cent threshold is a necessity as it is the only way to rescue the country from having another mediocre and unpopular republican president in 2011,” Hichilema said.

Hichilema urged his members of parliament and the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to quicken and finish the constitutional making process by June this year so that the provision could be ready for the 2011 general elections.

“I also suggest the need for the NCC to include provision so that a presidential candidate should have a running mate. There is also need for a constitutional provision to allow the opposition to come together during the runoff in order to attain the 50 plus one majority vote,” he said.

He said this was the only way in which unity and confidence would be enhanced among citizens as well as in the leadership of the country.

“We don’t need snail and chameleon types of leadership like what Zambians have today in the name of MMD government,” said Hichilema.

And Rev Matale said all proponents of the 50 plus one per cent threshold had been vindicated.

“I think for us, we can state strongly that the Ghana example has actually vindicated our case as Oasis Forum, churches and other organisations that have been advocating for change in our constitution. I think we as Africans must learn that all systems are organic: they grow, they change and now we are in an era where our young democracy needs to be given a chance to grow and Ghana is a good example,” Rev Matale said.

She said it did not matter who won the election as long as the outcome was legitimate.

“I think it’s not just because we want the opposition to win that is not the issue here. The issue is that whoever is going to be president, whichever government is going to be in place should have the support of more than half of the voters in any given situation,” she said.

Rev Matale called on the NCC to adopt the 50 plus one percent system to avoid illegitimate regimes.

“So we are praying and hoping that this process [NCC] that is sitting now must vindicate itself. They must prove us wrong those of us who have not gone to the NCC because we did not believe that NCC has what it takes for a fair process which would ensure a good product at the end of the day. And the Ghana lesson is one good lesson that nobody should be left in doubt that the 50 plus one system is the way forward for any nation, for any country including Zambia,” Rev Matale said. “And therefore this system must be enshrined in our new constitution which we believe must come out sooner than later.”

She wondered why the constitution making process was taking too long when there was a draft report from which all the information could be obtained.

Rev Matale accused politicians of being a stumbling block to a good electoral system because of their preference for a simple majority system.

“In fact the stumbling block in this process has been the politicians themselves because they don’t believe in 50 plus one. If you have heard from many politicians they would rather have a status quo which is simple majority. And you know where the simple majority has led us to, it has led us to minority governments,” said Rev Matale.

Labels: 50 PERCENT PLUS 1, CCZ, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA

posted by MrK @ 5:00 PM