Lydia Tembo
The Center for Young Leaders in Africa-CYLA-Zambia has underscored the urgent need for constitutional amendments to increase representation of youths, women, and persons with disabilities in elected positions.
Youth Leadership Organization has supported the call by government and President Hakainde Hichilema’s call for amendments to boost youth, women, and marginalized groups representation in elective key positions. 
CYLA Zambia Executive Director Clement Ng’oma says Zambians have consistently advocated for a mixed-member electoral system and other legislation to enhance representation of youths, women, and marginalized groups in parliament.
And Ng’oma has cautioned against politicizing the amendment process, warning it could compromise the well-intended exercise.
Ng’oma has stressed the importance of keeping the process free from political interference, especially ahead of next year’s general elections.
Meanwhile Ng’oma urged the government to adopt youth-friendly approaches and provide accessible information to ensure inclusive consultations throughout the amendment process.
Delimitation proposal is a welcome and progressive amendment, as this will help citizens in very vast and highly populated constituencies to be served better and effectively…….
But as for the proportional representation, since there’s no law currently that stops women and youths from standing and fairly competing, then how exactly are they disadvantaged? Why make a law to specifically give them special favours?
Isn’t it the rights of the community to choose the leader of their choice regardless of gender or age, then why impose a law to compell the community to be choosing leaders against their will all in the name of proportional representation?
Those arguments of lack of finances, inequality, cultural beliefs and norms, those are all moral issues that shouldn’t be imposed on citizens through laws but free will…… Let the NGOs and Churches advocate for such and allow citizens to freely choose leaders of their own choice(whether men, women or youths)……
Btw, we have a lot of youths and women with better paying jobs and more money than some of the men in politics, so financial muscle shouldn’t be an excuse…….
If our society only votes for leaders with money, then that just shows how corrupt we are as citizens, and the solution is not in imposing laws that favour one group over the other, the solution is in correcting the morals of society………
For the disabled we can understand, and for them it’s a simple issue, we can just put a law that among the nominees of the president, minimum 2 appointees should be disabled, then automatically they will have representation in parliament…..
The rest of us should freely and fairly compete in our communities for votes without any extra favours or advantages through some law, citizens should freely vote for whoever they prefer, whether entirely men, women or youths, it’s the right of citizens to choose whom they want, they should not be limited in their choices in the name of favouring one group…….
