By REBECCA MUSHOTA

•PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu assents to the amended Constitution at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka yesterday, while Chief Justice Ireen Mambilima looks on. Inset, the President shows Zambians the Republican Constitution after assenting to the amended national document.
Pictures by EDDIE MWANALEZA/STATE HOUSE

BARELY a year after he promised Zambians a new Constitution at the National Heroes Stadium during his inauguration, President Edgar Lungu yesterday assented to the amended Constitution at the same venue.
The President delivered a new Constitution with amendments to issues that mainly border on the electoral process in the presence of thousands of Zambians that attended the event.
“It is for that reason that at my inauguration as the sixth President of Zambia, I publicly committed myself and my Presidency to delivering to you my compatriots, a people-driven Constitution.
“And today on this historic occasion, barely eleven months into office, I, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, have the singular honour and privilege to say that, I am doing just that,” the President said.
The new Constitution stipulates that a President would be elected with 50 per cent +1 of the votes cast while a presidential candidate would have a running mate.
Other issues assented to, were the dual citizenship and minimum secondary qualifications for Constitutional office holders and that a general election would be held every second Thursday in August.
President Lungu said the Constitution he assented to yesterday was a document which was passed by Members of Parliament elected by the people.
“I know that we are all in agreement over the single goal of giving ourselves a new Constitution. We are however divided on the means. Nevertheless, the nation has to move forward.
“The choice made to have the Constitution adopted in this manner and allow only the Bill of Rights to be subjected to the Referendum avoids the risk of complete failure to enact a new Constitution due to the stringent voter threshold requirement that the Referendum demands,” he said.
President Lungu said it was time to close the chapter of the Constitution as it had cost Zambia far too much.
He said it was unfortunate that some opposition MPs who had demanded a new Constitution saying that they wanted the 2016 general elections to be held under the new document, still walked out of the Constitution making process.
Mr Lungu said the document was too important to be left to mere politicking and even though politics was part of democracy, it should be practiced truthfully.
He said the Constitution was a fundamental law of the land that all laws derived their legitimacy from it and should speak to the broadest interest of the people.
While the Constitution protected rights of the people, it was important for every citizen to take responsibility to foster harmony and development.
He said for many years, Zambians have spoken loudly and clearly about what kind of Constitution they wanted.
The document was too important to belong to an individual, group, profession or political party but should belong to all Zambians.
He thanked the MMD, the nation’s forefathers, the previous Constitution commissions and all the Zambians for deciding to have a new Constitution, saying he was honoured to have been the one to sign it into Law.
The President said the Patriotic Front (PF) Government was keen to deliver on its development promises and the nation would hold a Referendum as resources permitted.
Mr Lungu assented to the new Constitution at 15:33 hours.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula after receiving the Constitution said President Lungu had walked the talk.
Dr Simbyakula said it was the task of a leader to take people from where they are to places they have never been.
“There comes a time in a life of a nation when people must stand up and make bold decisions. We owe it to ourselves and and future generations to strive to make Zambia a better place,” he said.