Zambia: Lawyers' group opposes holding referendum with election

The Law Association of Zambia says holding the referendum alongside the general election may confuse prospective participants.

LAZ president Linda Kasonde said the concurrent holding of the two processes will lead to the referendum being mixed up with politics.

The smooth talking LAZ boss said the participants may lead to a pattern that will make process partisan.

She said that the participants may lose the necessity to scrutinize the significance of the substance of contents like the bill of rights.

"It is undesirable for the referendum to be held alongside the general election because there is a danger that the process may be politicized. People may be polarized along partisan lines," she said.

Government has announced that the referendum will be held alongside the general election.

The referendum is meant to have Zambians pass their verdict on issues that were not resolved in the amended constitution like the bill of rights, the death sentence among others.

Persons eligible to vote will participate while even those not registered as voters but qualify to voter and hold a National Registration Card will be given a chance to vote.

All persons aged 18 and above will be eligible to participate in the process.

Source: zambiareports.com