By STANSLOUS NGOSA –
WITH only a month left before holding the general election together with the national referendum on August 11, 2016, some voters have not understood the contents of the Bill of Rights.
This is evident going by the level of ignorance some people have expressed over the issue either on some radio programme and public places like churches, bottle stores and public transport.
The ignorance about the referendum to some extent is shocking because the topic is covered at both junior and high school education under social studies and civic education respectively.
For those that have passed through a classroom, this should not be difficult to understand.
However, some enlightened people have expressed different views on the matter while others are saying there is still need for sensitisation.
A referendum in simple terms is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to vote on a particular proposal.
In the case of the August 11 national referendum, the vote is anticipated to result in the adoption of a new law, that is, the Bill of Rights, and the repeal of Article 79 in the 1996 Republican Constitution.
On Friday, May 23, 2016, the referendum question was published in the Zambia Government Gazette.
“Do you agree to the amendment to the Constitution to enhance the Bill of Rights contained in Part III of the Constitution of Zambia and to repeal and replace Article 79 of the Constitution of Zambia?”
Movement for Economic Freedom president Mainda Simataa is quoted as saying; “While we agree in principle that during the evolution of every nation, constitutional changes, and even referenda, are necessary and inevitable in order to preserve or enhance the rights of people.
We are adamantly and diametrically opposed to the procedure adopted, namely, Electoral Commission of Zambia’s (ECZ) ill-timed and ill-advised decision to hold the referendum alongside a general election would be a first of its kind in world electoral history.”
Mr Simataa said there are many reasons for his objections, but he could only advance one critical and over-arching reason.
He said it would be simply never should the country consider repealing (deleting) or amending (changing)/replacing Article 79 of the Zambian constitution because it safeguards the sacred Bill of rights.
To repeal Article 79 for whatever reason, as the referendum question states, Mr Simataa said it would be tantamount to mass-suicide.
He said it would be granting whichever party controls parliament the license and unlimited power to alter or take away our human rights without the obligation which article 79 has imposed on parliament,
namely – to consult and get consent from over 50 per cent of all Zambians aged 18 and above, and only via the Referendum.
“Article 79 is what makes Zambia a democracy and not a dictatorship, and be reminded, the repeal of the Bill of Rights is what opened the door for UNIP to declare Zambia a One Party State, on the pretext that Parliament needed unlimited powers to repossess land from the whites, which the whites had cleverly protected under part three of the Bill of rights – the one part which politicians have no power to change, unless they consult the people right to enter,” he said.
Mr Simataa was of the view that the Referendum, as a matter of national security and the preservation of democracy, be forthwith separated from the general election and postponed.
He said doing so would enable ECZ consider and clarify the implications thereof, and allow such time as is necessary to allow for proper organization and education/preparedness of the people to enable them decide on this matter that is above partisan politics.
Veteran journalist Charles Kachikoti said in his column Let’s Face It that voters in the August 11 referendum on amending the Zambian Bill of Rights do not know what they will be deciding on.
“On this score alone, freedom of information has been suffocated by the sheer speed with which the Bill of Rights Referendum is being approached under the shadow of the rearranged general elections taking place on the same day,” Mr Kachikoti said.
One crucial pitfall of this setting, Mr Kachikoti said that after the elections, the country will not be equipped to deal with its relationship with donor countries whose interpretation of human rights and discrimination has legalised homosexuality and gay marriages across the West and where bestiality is now legal (Canada), pressure is on to legalise incest (Germany) and adultery is now legal (Japan).
Mr Kachikoti said the Bill of Rights, with the ‘right to culture’ element, should position the country to respond constitutionally and effectively once international economic cooperation is called into question and donors squeeze vital lines of aid because of the laws that will be termed ‘discriminatory’ or ‘segregating’ in light of donors’ human rights standing,”
“The donors, who speak out strongly whenever they perceive human rights abuse or deprivation, are silently watching Zambia. Come August 12, we will face new pressure,” he said.
Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Governance Advisor Isaac Mwanza said Zambians have been advised to demand from the ECZ on whether the Referendum on the Bill of Rights and Article 79 will be binding or advisory so as to make informed decisions on how they will vote.
Mr Mwanza said his organisation has closely examined article 79 of the Constitution and Regulations 34 and 35 of the Referendum Regulations requires that, at a minimum, 3,765,046 persons who are 18 years and above turn up to vote for Government to send the Bill to Parliament for alterations.
He said he is aware that ECZ has also been sending messages to voters advising that voting in the referendum serves only one key purpose that is to ensure that Government can know whether voters agree to changes or not.
President Edgar Lungu has justified the holding of the referendum alongside the general elections, saying it will help the country save on costs.
Mr Mwanza urged Zambians to turn up and vote en mass in the referendum which would be held alongside the general elections on August 11, 2016.
The President said voting in favour of the referendum would give way to the repealing and replacing of Article 79 of the Constitution of Zambia.
“Failure to vote for this referendum now will be costly for the country to do it later” President Lungu said.
Attorney General Likando Kalaluka urged Zambians to support the proposed expanded Bill of Rights because it is progressive.
Mr Kalaluka said the proposed expanded Bill of Rights will enable Zambians to enjoy their rights and question Government if those rights are not provided.
The expanded Bill of Rights includes economic, social and cultural rights, which embrace access to education, employment, a clean and safe environment, among others.
Council of Elders of the Zambia Elections Information Centre (ZEIC) chairperson Leonard Chiti urged the media and Church to play a role of sensitising the nation to enhance credibility of the August  11, general elections.
ZEIC project is a multi-stakeholder platform funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa that brings together key elections stakeholders drawn from civil society, independent management bodies, church mother bodies, development partners and political parties to work together on elections observation, monitoring, rapid response and proactive advocacy ahead of the general elections in Zambia.
The Project was established with the vision to provide timely and relevant information on the election situation across the country through an ICT based communication platform.
Fr Chiti says the media has an important role of educating citizens on various aspects of the electoral process and bringing out fundamental issues that will help citizens make informed decisions.
He says the Council of Elders has received reports that many people in the country do not understand the critical aspects of the processes such as the referendum on the Bill of Rights.
The Priest said although the council is aware of the challenging environment within which media houses are operating, there is need to address the challenges and gaps around the issues of the Referendum
and the Bill of Rights.
Fr Chiti said the Referendum risked failing if it did not meet the required 50 per cent participation of the eligible voters in the process.
On the Church, Fr Chiti said despite the short time remaining before August 11, the church could help change the outcome of the referendum by educating their church members on the matter.
“It’s not late. The church should use its religious activities and other platforms to ensure that more people have adequate information about the importance of voting in the referendum,” Fr Chiti said.
He said there was a need to educate people on benefits of having a new Bill of Rights for them to turn out in numbers to vote with confidence during the referendum.
Fr Chiti said the Bill of Rights was crucial for the people to enhance their basic human rights because it contained progressive provisions which would improve their lives.
He said it was important for the church to exploit its access to large crowds of people so that more  were informed about the Bill of Rights and the need for them to participate in the referendum.
Therefore going by what is at stake, the citizens should read the contents of the Bill of Rights which is the reason for the national Referendum so that they can make an informed choice instead of falling into the trap of debating how long the referendum question is.
The Referendum question is indeed long but it cannot override the importance of the contents of the Bill of Rights.
Surely, should this question requiring a YES or NO, overshadow the main task of scrutinising the human rights clauses in the proposed Bill of Rights?
Zambians shouldnt make the same mistake they made when they were debating draft Constitution of Zambia Bill.