THE proposed Constitution Amendment, Bill 7 of 2025 wants to change how by-elections are done in Zambia and will only allow them to happen when an independent Member of Parliament (MP), mayor, council chairperson or councillor leaves office or dies.
Right now, if an MP, mayor, council chairperson or councillor loses their seat by resigning or dying, a by-election is held so that people can vote for someone new.
But if Bill 7 is passed, by-elections will only happen if the person who left the position was an independent candidate, meaning someone who didn’t belong to any political party.
According to the proposed amendment to Article 266 of the Constitution, the new definition of a by-election will be, “an election to fill a vacancy in the office of an independent Member of Parliament holding a constituency-based seat, independent mayor, council chairperson or councillor.”
For candidates who belonged to a political party, the party will have to just choose someone else to replace their candidate, which will require no voting or by-election as the replacement will finish the rest of the term in Parliament.
The new Bill also says the Speaker of the National Assembly must write to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) within seven days after a seat becomes vacant.
The political party will then be given time to submit the name of the new person taking over the seat.
“Where a vacancy occurs in the National Assembly for a Member of Parliament, the Speaker shall, within seven days of the occurrence of the vacancy, inform the Electoral Commission of the vacancy in writing, and the political party that sponsored the member who held the seat shall elect another person to replace that member to assume that seat in the National Assembly,” reads the Bill, aimed at amending Article 72 of the Constitution of Zambia.
The replacement must meet all the normal requirements to be an MP under Article 70 and will serve for the rest of the Parliament’s term.
In short, this Bill wants to cut down the number of by-elections and save money, especially for positions that were held by people from political parties.
Another part of the new Bill says that no seats can be filled in the last six months before a general election.
“A vacancy shall not be filled within the one hundred and eighty day period that precedes a general election,” reads the Bill.
If passed, the changes will only apply to seats held by party sponsored candidates and independents will still face by-elections if they lose their seats.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, June 9, 2025
