By Times Special Writer –
SINCE Zambia reverted to plural politics in 1991, the country has recorded several successes, among them, the proliferation of political parties.
However, while this is a plus on our young democracy, we are appalled at the number of political parties in the country, not to talk of presidential candidates gunning for presidency whenever there are presidential elections.
Further, while respecting the Electoral Commission (ECZ) of Zambia’s statement that for any democratic election to take place, there is need for candidates to contest elections following Section 33 of the Electoral Act No. 12 of 2006 that stipulates that any person desiring to be a candidate for an election shall file such application with the returning officer, there are issues that need revisiting.
Among them is the proposal that the Government changes the requirement that dictates a candidate to have not less than 200 supporters who are registered voters. We would like this requirement to be extended to provinces with a candidate marshalling 100 supporters in all the 10 provinces.
We feel this will radically cut the number of political parties to three and ultimately reduce the number of political upstarts standing for presidency. While some people would argue that democracy would be compromised, we feel to the contrary that this will cement democracy by giving it depth and direction.
Even in some European countries like Russia, there were concerns on the number of political parties that led to the preliminary approval to a Bill on political parties that wiped out 90 per cent of existing political groups.
President Vladimir Putin submitted the Bill in 2012 with the stated aim of introducing order into Russia’s chaotic political scene by leaving only a few large, nationwide parties instead of the 188 motley groups scattered across the country.
Although critics opposed the Bill’s provision for State funding of parties and its rigid rules for forming a party, saying both allowed the government to manipulate factions or shut them down on the basis of technicalities, some political analysts felt the move was progressive.
Among the Bill’s radical requirement was that a party must have at least 10,000 members nationwide and branch offices in at least 45 regions, with a minimum of 100 members each.
This rule bars regional parties and grass-roots groups from nominating candidates for elections to legislative bodies. Once registered, a party could still be shut down if membership numbers drop below the required minimum.
The Bill stipulates that political parties are the only organisations that can put forward candidates for elections at all levels and that they must do so regularly to continue functioning. It also requires parties to supply tax officials with regular financial reports.
As things stand now in Russia, to become a party, a group would have to open branches in at least half of Russia’s 89 regions, with no fewer than 100 members in each region and an overall minimal membership of 10,000.
This provision has wiped out the majority of the 188 existing parties, whose membership fell far below the requested minimum.
Coming back to Zambia, how many political parties fall below the required number of supporters or, worse still, below the expected standards of a serious political party?