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ABSTRACT
Much has been written about the strength of African presidentialism. This article studies the resilience of presidential power in Zambia in the face of electoral turnover. Opposition election campaigns, conducted by both the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and the Patriotic Front (PF), featured deep constitutional reform as prominent campaign pledges. Nevertheless, after winning the presidency, both parties failed to reduce presidential power. We support this conclusion by an analysis of constitution making in Zambia since the early 1990s and an analysis of the latest 2016 amended constitution. We argue that presidential powers become valuable institutional assets for newly elected elites attempting to reduce electoral uncertainty and consolidate power. Consequently, reduction in presidential power is unlikely as long as the executive is able to control the constitution making process.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Merete Beech Seeberg, Muna Ndulo and Katherine Baccerra Valdivia for invaluable comments. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the editors and anonymous reviewers.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Bwalya and Maharaj, “Not to the Highest Bidder.”
2 Sishuwa, “‘I Am Zambia’s Redeemer.’”
3 Rakner, “Institutionalizing the Pro-democracy Movements.”
4 Simutanyi, “The Politics of Consitutional Reform in Zambia”; Ndulo and Beyani, “As Tedious as a Twice-Told Tale.”
5 Levitsky and Way, Competitive Authoritarinism.
6 Cheeseman and Hinfelaar, “Parties, Platforms, and Political Mobilization.”
7 Bebbington et al., Governing Extractive Industries; Hinfelaar et al., “Cities and Dominance.”
8 Prempeh, “Presidents Untamed.”
9 O’Donnell, “Horizontal Accountability in New Democracies”; van Cranenburgh, “Restraining Executive Power in Africa”; Morse, “Presidential Power.”
10 Ndulo, “Constitutions.”
11 Bratton and van de Walle, Democratic Experiments in Africa.
12 Ibid.; Chabal and Daloz, Africa Works; Ndulo, “Constitutions”; Posner and Young, “The Institutionalization of Political Power.”
13 Prempeh, “Presidents Untamed.”
14 Ndulo, “Constitutions.”
15 Gertzel et al., The Dynamics of the One-Party State.
16 Lebas, From Protest to Parties.
17 Erdmann and Simuntanyi, “Transitions in Zambia.”
18 Article 33.
19 Article 46.
20 Article 59.
21 Article 68.
22 Article 88.
23 Article 62.
24 Article 76.
25 Burnell, “The Party System”; Rakner and Svåsand, “From Dominant to Competitive Party System.”
26 Ndulo and Beyani, “As Tedious as a Twice-Told Tale”; Simuntayi, “The Politics of Consitutional Reform.”
27 Ndulo and Kent, “Constitutionalism in Zambia.”
28 Mphaisha, “Retreat from Democracy.”
29 Simutanyi, “The Politics of Consitutional Reform.”
30 Burnell, “Legislative-Executive Relations in Zambia.”
31 Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) country report 2013, paragraph 4.2.11.
32 Nasong’o, “Political Transition without Transformation”; Rakner and Svåsand, “From Dominant to Competitive Party System.”
33 Burnell, “Legislative-Executive Relations in Zambia”; Rakner and Svåsand, “From Dominant to Competitive Party System.”
34 VonDoepp, “Party Cohesion and Fractionalization.”
35 Rakner and Svåsand, “From Dominant to Competitive Party System.”
36 Ibid.
37 Gloppen, “The Accountability Function.”
38 Larmer and Fraser, “Of Cabbages and King Cobra.”
39 Ibid.; Rakner and Svåsand, “Stuck in Transition.”
40 Sishuwa, “‘I Am Zambia’s Redeemer.’”
41 Cheeseman and Hinfelaar, “Parties, Platforms, and Political Mobilization.”
42 Patriotic Front Manifesto 2011–2016, 1. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://sadcblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/pf-2011-manifesto-zambia.pdf.
43 Patriotic Front Manifesto 2011–2016, 34.
44 Resnick, Urban Poverty.
45 Sishuwa, “‘I Am Zambia’s Redeemer.’”
46 Lusaka Times, “Dual Citizenship Will Create More Zambians and Lead to Loss of Jobs to Foreign Nationals Living in Zambia – President Sata,” July 6, 2012. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.lusakatimes.com/2012/06/07/dual-citizenship-create-zambians-lead-loss-jobs-foreign-nationalities-living-zambiapresident-sata/.
47 Statement of Mwansa Kapeya, Minister of Information, 2014. Lusaka Times, January 9. Accessed February 7, 2018. https://www.lusakatimes.com/2014/01/09/information-politicians-bank-rolled-constitution-crusade-embrass-undermine-government-kapeya/.
48 Lusaka Times, “Show me an Animal Driven Constitution Before Demanding for a People Driven One – President Sata,” February 20, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.lusakatimes.com/2014/02/20/show-animal-driven-constitution-demanding-people-driven-one-president-sata/.
49 Lusaka Times, “Draft Constitution Will Not Be Released to Public Until It Goes Through Cabinet – Sata,” January 8, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.lusakatimes.com/2014/01/08/draft-constitution-will-released-public-goes-cabinet-sata/.
50 Technical Committee (TC) statement, quoted in Southern Africa Litigation Centre, “A brief analysis of Zambia’s constitution-making process and the ‘leaked’ final draft constitution,” January 16, 2014. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.southernafricalitigationcentre.org/2014/01/16/a-brief-analysis-of-zambias-constitution-making-process-and-the-leaked-final-draft-constitution/.
51 Hinfelaar et al., “Cities and Dominance.”
52 Steven Mvula, “New Constitution on Cards,” Zambia Daily Mail, January 26, 2015. Accessed October 30, 2020. http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/new-constitution-cards.
53 Article 94(2).
54 Article 95(4).
55 Article 174(1).
56 Article 185(5).
57 Boone and Wahman, “Rural Bias”; Resnick, “Democracy, Decentralization, and District Proliferation.”
58 Ndulo, “Review of the Draft Constitution.”
59 Lusaka Times, “President Sata Threatens to Dissolve Parliament,” October 27, 2011. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://www.lusakatimes.com/2011/10/27/president-sata-threatens-dissolve-parliament/.
60 See the case of Minister of Information and Broadcasting v. Chembo and Others SCZ Judgment No. 11 of 2007.
61 Mozaffar, “Patterns of Electoral Governance.”
62 Section 5(1) Electoral Commission Act 2016.
63 Section 5(3) Electoral Commission Act 2016.
64 Section 5(5)(f) Electoral Commission Act 2016.
65 Elklit and Svensson, “The Rise of Election Monitoring.”
66 Article 56.
67 Article 110.
68 Article 105(9) and (10).
69 Article 63(2) (d) and (e).
70 Article 149.
71 Article 127.
72 Article 113.
73 Articles 47(1) and 101(2).
74 Goldring and Wahman, “Democracy in Reverse.”
75 Kerr and Wahman, “Electoral Rulings”; Sishuwa “Zambia’s 2016 Election”; Ndulo, “Hichilema and Another v Lungu and Another.”
76 Article 231.
77 Article 124.
78 Thomas and Sissokho, “Liaison Legislature.”
79 Scales-Trent, “Presidential Authority.”
80 Kelly, “Senegal.”
81 Kenya’s transition to multipartyism in 1992 was not combined with significant constitutional overhaul. The president maintained dictatorial powers, including rights to limit the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press. See Ndegwa, “The Incomplete Transition.”
82 Whitaker and Giersch, “Voting on a Constitution.”
83 Ghai, “Constitutions and Constitutionalism.”
84 Cotrell and Ghai, “Constitution Making.”
85 Ibid.
86 Whitaker and Giersch, “Voting on a Constitution.”
87 Hassan, “Continuity Despite Change.”
88 Murray, “Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.”
89 Cheeseman, “The Kenyan Elections.”
90 Wamai, “Mediating Kenya’s Post-Election Violence.”
91 Murray, “Political Elites and People.”
92 Albertus and Menaldo, Authoritarianism and the Elite Origins of Democracy; O’Donnell and Schmitter, Tentative Conclusions About Uncertain Democracies.
93 Prempeh, “Presidents Untamed.”
94 Riedl, Authoritarian Origins.
95 Rakner, “Institutionalizing the Pro-democracy Movements.”
96 Schedler, “The Nested Game of Democratization.”
97 Hydén, African Politics, 111.
98 Wahman, “Democratization and Electoral Turnovers.”
99 Bratton and van de Walle, Democratic Experiments in Africa; Fish, Democracy Derailed in Russia; Signé and Korha, “Horizontal Accountability”; Morse, “Presidential Power.”