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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 001019 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ZA
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT SIGNS NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE 
BILL; CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS STILL UNSATISFIED WITH 
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PROSPECTS 
 
REF: A. LUSAKA 734 
 
     ¶B. LUSAKA 510 
 
LUSAKA 00001019  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador C. Martinez, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
 ¶1. (C) Summary.  President Mwanawasa signed the 
government-sponsored National Constitutional Conference (NCC) 
bill on August 31.  The bill calls for a 
nationally-representative Constitutional Conference to either 
draft a new constitution or suggest amendments to the current 
one.  The Oasis Forum, a civil society umbrella group, says 
that it may boycott the NCC and continues to insist that it 
will only accept a new Constitution drafted by a constituent 
assembly and ratified by a national referendum, as 
recommended by the 2005 Constitutional Review Commission. 
Opposition parties have been restrained in their criticism of 
the NCC and it appears that the GRZ has taken the initiative 
on constitutional reform away from civil society by 
presenting a plan that at least moves the ball forward. 
Civil society groups now face a difficult task in deciding 
whether to work within a reform process designed by an 
executive branch determined to protect its privileges or to 
risk being marginalized by refusing to participate.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) When signing the National Constitutional Conference 
bill on August 31, President Mwanawasa urged a speedy 
implementation of the constitutional issues at stake.  The 
Constitutional reform process began in 2003 with the 
formation of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC), which 
was charged with identifying problems in the 1996 
Constitution and recommending improvements.  Important 
recommendations in the CRC report include requirements that 
cabinet ministers and deputy ministers come from outside 
Parliament (currently the opposite is true), that the 
president and vice president be elected by a minimum of "50 
plus 1" percent of the vote (currently the candidate with the 
most votes wins); that the president may not appoint members 
of parliament (he is allowed to appoint eight currently); and 
that public media must provide equal and balanced coverage to 
all persons and parties participating in the elections (not 
provided for in the current Constitution; this was raised by 
many observers as a shortcoming iof the national elections 
held in 2006). 
 
¶3. (U) The CRC report has been the focus of debate (see 
reftels) since its release in December 2005, with the GRZ 
originally accepting its recommendation of a constituent 
assembly to draft a completely new Constitution that took 
into account its recommended provisions.  The GRZ laid out a 
very technical process under which adopting a new 
Constitution would necessarily entail an amendment to the 
current Constitution, as well as an expensive census and 
referendum.  The Oasis Forum insisted that the law was more 
flexible and that the GRZ should form a Constituent Assembly 
to draft a new constitution, which could then be submitted to 
a national referendum.  In late June the President briefed 
donors on a more nuanced GRZ view that most constitutional 
changes could be done through selected amendments rather than 
wholesale change (ref B). 
 
¶4. (U) The GRZ tabled the National Constitutional Conference 
bill on August 2.  The bill establishes a conference of 
persons representing all walks of Zambian life, including all 
members of Parliament and specific numbers of representatives 
from political parties, trade unions, church groups and 
religious associations, government commissions, professional 
associations, traditional healers and chiefs, media, 
universities, military, the judiciary, civil servants, local 
government and former freedom fighters.  The Conference is 
charged with studying the CRC's report and drafting a new 
draft Constitution or suggesting necessary amendments for 
submission to the Parliament. 
 
¶5. (U) During Parliamentary Committee consultations on the 
bill, criticism centered on the strong hand dealt to the 
executive branch in the proposed NCC process.  The GRZ agreed 
to several changes, including the election of the Chair and 
Vice Chair of the conference (the original bill called for 
Presidential appointment) and increasing the number of 
political parties represented on the Conference.  However, 
the members of the Conference itself are appointed by the 
Secretary to the Cabinet, a position fully controlled by 
 
SIPDIS 
President Mwanawasa.  In addition, the mechanics of how the 
Conference's recommendations will be translated into law are 
somewhat vague - the original bill called for the Conference 
only to "recommend" amendments or a new Constitution to the 
Minister of Justice.  The revised bill apparently now says 
that the Conference should "submit" its language to the MOJ, 
and civil society is still uncomfortable with the ambiguity 
 
LUSAKA 00001019  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
of the new language. 
 
¶6. (C) Civil society umbrella group the Oasis Forum reignited 
the constitutional reform debate in April of this year (ref 
B) by calling for a constituent assembly that would draft a 
completely new constitution.  The Forum still insists on this 
plan and has said that they would prefer no constitutional 
change to the piecemeal changes they feel are most likely to 
result from the NCC.  At a recent meeting with donor 
representatives who fund governance initiatives, Forum reps 
said that they are considering withholding participation in 
the Conference.  Opposition parties, however, have been muted 
in their reaction to the bill and apparently are waiting to 
see how the process proceeds. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment:  The NCC process is far from perfect and the 
executive branch has maintained its upper hand in protecting 
presidential powers.  The President has already expressed his 
preference for change through amendment, but in offering at 
least the possibility of an entirely new Constitution, the 
GRZ has taken away some of civil society's momentum.  Groups 
such as the Oasis Forum now face a difficult decision: 
whether to participate in -- and therefore legitimate -- a 
process that is stacked against them, or to stand on the 
sidelines and risk marginalization.  Given such a choice, it 
is easy to see why distrust of the government is so high. 
End comment. 
 
MARTINEZ