Zambia: Politics / 1

Zambia’s Political Structure

  • Form of government: Republican democracy in name; in reality it is just starting to get over a 30 year single-party system; suffrage is universal over the age of 18
  • Current administration: President Levy Mwanawasa; currently on his second term; presidents are elected for a 5-year term with the possibility of a second term
  • National Assembly: 158 members elected for 5-year terms; 150 members are elected, 8 are appointed by the president
  • Kenneth Kaunda was a major voice in Zambian politics from 1964 to 1991
  • Leader of the United National Independence Party
  • Tried to encourage a government policy of “humanism” which prioritized human rights and equality
  • In 1972, created a single-party system in which only UNIP members could run for office
  • In 1991, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy put an end to the single-party system and created a new constitution
  • Smaller parties still have a problem with major obstacles set up to keep them from running
  • Government is currently prioritizing a movement to repatriate over 141,000 refugees
  • Estimates of refugees residing in Zambia (according to the CIA World Factbook):
  • Angola: 75,468
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo: 61,243
  • Rwanda: 5,669
  • Attempting to help diplomatic negotiations with countries to allow refugees to return to their homes
  • The current administration is a huge voice in Africa demanding the assistance of Developed Countries’ in development, peace negotiations, and the struggle for equality in the region; major leader in the African Union
  • Still dealing with overwhelming amount of corruption in the government
  • Previous presidential administration is under investigation for the embezzlement of over US$41 million
  • Current administration has been found very transparent and is making a major effort to purge corruption practices

Foreign Policy Goals defined by the Zambian Mission to the United Nations

  1. Poverty and Underdevelopment
  2. Zambia is most interested in enforcing the Millennium Development Goal target date of 2015
  3. Zambia believes that poverty and underdevelopment are the biggest threats to Africa’s regional political stability
  1. Regional stability and ending conflict in African states
  2. Zambia is surrounded by states involved in interstate and intrastate conflicts and believes that UN support in peacekeeping operations is of the utmost importance. The best way to for the UN to support PKOs is to lend greater support to the African Union, according the Zambia’s mission to the UN
  1. Human trafficking
  2. Exact operations and methods to achieve not defined
  1. Demining activities
  2. Mines are heavily concentrated around the border areas of Zambia’s neighboring countries, and this effects the safety of Zambians who have no role in the neighboring conflicts
  3. Zambia is undertaking a project to de-mine all these border areas by 2011, but is asking for $3 billion in support of these operations
  1. Violations of human rights
  2. Exact operations and methods to achieve not defined
  1. HIV/AIDS pandemic
  2. The AIDS pandemic affects political and economic stability in the region
  1. Global Climate Change
  2. Government is a major supporter of efforts to reduce global warming and climate change due to their concerns that climate change will exacerbate current problems in the region