Govt refuses to give-in on constitution

The Zambian government has refused to give into pressure for a constituent assembly to approve a new constitution ahead of next year's presidential polls. Thousands of Zambians participated in a protest on Tuesday last week called by the pressure group the Oasis Forum, braving soaring temperatures to hand petitions to MPs demanding that a bill be passed to create a constituent assembly. The following day, the government rejected a draft constitution produced by a Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), which it had appointed in 2002 to craft a new magna carta. Included in the CRC's recommendations was a provision that a president should be elected by more than 50 percent of the vote, a key demand of the protestors. Also suggested were proposals to make the vice-president a running mate of the presidential candidate, and a reduction in the powers of the presidency in favour of giving parliament more teeth. Mwanawasa has reportedly given the CRC up to the end of December to re-draft the proposed constitution. The government's opponents hailed the CRC's original draft document, and want a constituent assembly to pass the new constitution before next year's presidential election - a target Mwanawasa has insisted would be impossible to meet. Professor Alfred Chanda, head of Transparency International Zambia, warned that by not paying heed to perceived public opinion the government might have to "pay a price" in the elections next year. "The government's response to the successful demonstration [last week] has so far been one of intransigence, but more demonstrations could possibly make the government pay attention to the public," said Fred Mutesa, a political science lecturer the University of Zambia. Chanda said the problem was that Mwanawasa, who narrowly won controversial elections in 2001 with just 29 percent of the vote, "is probably aware that he might even lose that support next year - which has made the government even more intransigent". Mwanawasa has insisted, however, that a constituent assembly would be too expensive an exercise for cash-strapped Zambia. Voter registration is currently taking place for the 2006 election, which insiders say could be held by July next year.