Constitutional Bill passes committee stage

The Constitutional Amendment Bill number 17 of 2015 has passed Committee Stage in Parliament.

The bill passed Committee Stage with an amendment to withdraw the Proportion Representation Clause for the time being.

The withdrawal of the Proportional Representation Clause was subjected to a vote after the opposition members of parliament mainly of United Party for National Development -UPND opposed the amendment.

After the vote the members of parliament that supported the amendment garnered One Hundred and 10 votes representing 73 point 33 percent against their counterparts on the contrary side who scored 39 votes-standing at 26 percent.

Earlier Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula moved a motion for a memorandum to amend the Proportional Representation Clause.

Dr Simbyakula noted that the clause could be referred to the referendum at a later stage.

The Proportion Representation Clause sought to increase the number of members of parliament to 94 from political parties list.

Overall the Amendment Bill number 17 of 2015seeks to amend contentious issues in the 1996 Republican Constitution such as 50 percent plus one Presidential Electoral Threshold and Vice Presidential Running Mate Clause – ZNBC