Democracy not owned by any country – Speaker

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 11:56:45 +0000

DEMOCRACY does not belong to any country or region and has no single model, Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matiibini has said.

Speaking when he led Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday during the commemoration of the International Day of Democracy (IDD), Dr Matibini said according to a resolution adopted by the United Nations there was no single model of democracy.

The International Day of Democracy is held yearly on September 15 to raise public awareness about democracy.

Dr Matibini, who is president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Zambia national group, explained that the occasion was being observed yesterday because the 12th National Assembly had not been opened by September 15, 2016.

“The International Day of Democracy dates as far back as November 8, 2007, when the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution 62/7 declaring September 15 as the International Day of Democracy,” he said.

He said the resolution preamble of the UN General Assembly defined democracy as a universal value based on the freely-expressed will of the people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of life.

Dr Matibini said the resolution also highlighted some key actors in democracy, which were Parliament, civil society organisations, media and the Government at all levels.

The theme for this year’s commemoration of the International Day of Democracy is “Democracy 2030.”

Meanwhile, Clerk of the National Assembly who is also treasurer for the IPU Zambia national group, Doris Mwiinga, explained that the IPU Zambia yesterday prepared some youths centred activities whose objective was to give youths an opportunity to debate on whether there were enough opportunities for them to contribute effectively to the growth of Zambia’s democracy and the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030.

The commemorations were attended by the first and second deputy speaker Ms Catherine Namugala and Mwimba Malama.

Other notables included Mwansa Mbulakulima, Jack Mwiimbu, Garry Nkombo and Freedom Sikazwe, among others.