Justice minister moves to defer Bill 7 again

Archive note: Lusaka Brief launched in September 2026. This entry was added retrospectively so the record of a significant national moment is preserved. It is based on reporting and official statements that were publicly available at the time.

Constitutional reform was put on ice again at the end of June, when the Minister of Justice moved to defer the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 7 — the package that has divided political and civil society opinion for more than a year.

Bill 7 proposes, among other measures, an expanded National Assembly, new constituency boundaries, and reserved seats for women, youth and persons with disabilities under a mixed proportional system. The government has defended it as a corrective to representational gaps; critics, including legal scholars and opposition parties, have called the process opaque and warned of executive overreach.

The deferment follows an earlier pause in mid-2025, when President Hichilema sent the bill back for wider consultation after church leaders and more than 30 civil society organisations objected to the roadmap. The Constitutional Court had also raised questions about the process.

With the 13 August general election approaching, the bill's fate effectively passes to the next parliament. Senior Citizen Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika and other constitutional figures have urged that any revival start from broad national consensus rather than a party timetable.