Where are the 55 constituencies coming from? Kafwaya, Saki ask

By BARNABAS eZULU

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the UPND government have been challenged to provide a clear and transparent explanation on how 55 constituencies have been earmarked for delimitation when the official ECZ report only recommended for 11.
Mutotwe Kafwaya, the Patriotic Front Lunte Member of Parliament and prominent constitutional lawyer Sakwiba Sikota have questioned what they have described as “a deception tsunami,” accusing the UPND regime of misleading the public over the true contents of the delimitation report.

Mr Sikota SC says the Constitutional Court was clear in nullifying Bill 7 by ordering that the initiation of the constitutional amendment process lacked legitimacy because the Constitutional Court had declared the bill a nullity.
“Object (a) of Bill 7 deals with the actualisation of the ECZ report on delimitation of constituencies,” he said. “But when you ask Government where the ECZ report recommending 55 constituencies is, they tell you to ‘go to ECZ’ because the ECZ chairperson has the report. As if saying the ECZ chair created Bill 7.”He argued that Government should justify the introduction of 55 new constituencies.
“You must have a basis for coming up with 55 new constituencies – that is the point, Hon Minister!” Mr Kafwaya said. “If the report is still with ECZ, then where did you find the number 55? Utuntu!”He explained that the situation had become more confusing after ECZ appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee currently scrutinising the controversial Bill.“ECZ indicated that they had submitted the report to Government and cannot release it to the public because it is now in Government’s hands,” he said. “It is being kept like accountable documents.”

According to ECZ, the report being referenced is the 2019 delimitation report, and a revised version was handed over in 2025.
“These two details are critical pieces of information,” Mr Kafwaya emphasised.
He insisted that the 2019 report only recommended the creation of 11 new constituencies.“I can tell you for certain that this report recommended an addition of only 11 constituencies. I remember this accurately because Lunte, Kasempa and Chilubi were among the 11.”He challenged Government to explain the sudden expansion.

“So, where have the 44 additional constituencies come from? This is deception. This is grand deception,” he said. “How can you add 44 constituencies to a report which only recommended 11? This is not normal!”
Mr Kafwaya also dismissed the claim that the 2019 report was revised in 2025.
“This is one of the funniest stories I have heard this year. Delimitation information gathering is never conducted in offices. It is a go-there activity – public meetings, boundary suggestions, and submissions. That is what happened in 2018.”
He stressed that no such public consultations have taken place since then.“How did ECZ revise the 2019 report in 2025 without going back to the people? Where did they conduct public meetings?” he asked. “I believe there is no revised report for 2025.”Mr Kafwaya called on Government to make the reports public.“I challenge Government to release the 2019 report and the so-called 2025 revised report. Why are they being hidden? This deception is beyond measure.”He urged the minister and ECZ to “reconcile their public views” on the matter.

“They are one Government. They should not contradict or accuse each other,” he said. “The motivation for the arbitrary number 55 must be explained. This deception tsunami should not be left unattended.”
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the UPND government have been challenged to provide a clear and transparent explanation on how 55 constituencies have been earmarked for delimitation when the official ECZ report only recommended for 11.
Mutotwe Kafwaya, the Patriotic Front Lunte Member of Parliament and prominent constitutional lawyer Sakwiba Sikota have questioned what they have described as “a deception tsunami,” accusing the UPND regime of misleading the public over the true contents of the delimitation report.
Mr Sikota SC says the Constitutional Court was clear in nullifying Bill 7 by ordering that the initiation of the constitutional amendment process lacked legitimacy because the Constitutional Court had declared the bill a nullity.