NON-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC) chairperson Beatrice Grillo has backed calls by the National Restoration Party to abolish the constitutional clause requiring a by-election whenever a member of Parliament changes political parties.
Ms Grillo says the number of by-elections the country has recently witnessed is worrying.
“The NGOCC would like to state that some by-elections are necessary, especially if they come as a result of the death of a parliamentarian, but, what we have witnessed in the recent past is really something else,” she said.
She added: “A lot of resources are being spent on these by-elections. People are even leaving their offices to campaign, which means vital resources are being diverted from social economic programmes.”
Ms Grillo also said the University Teaching Hospital recently ran out of oxygen and some of the resources used on by-elections should have been channelled towards procuring oxygen.
Law Association of Zambia president James Banda also said the numerous by-elections are a waste of resources.
“The draft constitution takes care of this issue. Once the new constitution [if adopted in its current form] is in place, unnecessary by-elections will be a thing of the past,” Mr Banda said.
He urged Government to categorically state when a referendum will be held to adopt the Constitution.
Mr Banda said the current scenario where the country is in the dark over the referendum only adds to suspicions that Government wants to manipulate the contents.
“To remove this suspicion, Government must announce what will happen when the Technical Committee finishes drafting the constitution in June 2013 and states exactly when the referendum commission will be appointed to start its work,” Mr Banda said.
He said consensus will only be built if Government is open and transparent.