By CHILA NAMAIKO

VISITING Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland has implored political parties in the country to respect the rule of law to enable Zambia remain a peaceful nation.

Ms Scotland was impressed that Zambia had for many years been a renowned haven of peace, and as such, she called on political leaders citing the Members of Parliament (MPs) to continue to play a key role of fostering peace and unity.

“It’s so encouraging that Zambia has been a good example of a peaceful nation worldwide and I think this should be maintained by ensuring that political parties at all times respect the rule of law,” she said.

Ms Scotland accompanied by Higher Education Minister Nkandu Luo, was speaking when she called on Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini at the Parliament Buildings in Lusaka yesterday.

Ms Scotland, who is in Zambia as part of her sub region, visit which started with Uganda, called on the lawmakers to work towards safeguarding the country’s democracy and good governance for the benefit of their electorate.

She said the parliamentarians should also remain proactive in enacting laws aimed at fighting a growing and worrisome spate of terrorism that had affected many countries.

Zambia as a member of the Commonwealth, Ms Scotland called for enhanced bilateral talks and exchange of positive ideas to achieve more economic development.

Dr Matibini called on the Commonwealth to help provide more education to the Zambian MPs to be oriented on the legislative procedures especially that most of them were new in Parliament coming from last year’s general elections.

The Speaker also said democracy had remained an integral part of national development citing the last year’s enactment of the republican Constitution by President Edgar Lungu, which came into being after a wider consultation among citizens.