Stakeholders have weighed in on the looming cancellation of the registration of the Patriotic Front (PF) political party by the Registrar of Societies for failure to comply with the directive to avail the list of office bearers in the party.
In a letter dated 25th April 2023, Chief Registrar of Societies Thandiwe Phiri Mhende notified the PF of the intention to cancel the Political Party following its failure to comply with the order to avail a full and complete list of office bearers of the party as required under Section 2 of the Societies Act Cap 119 of the Laws of Zambia for every Society to have a minimum of 10 office bearers.
The Non-governmental Gender Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has expressed deep concern over the situation.
NGOCC Board Chairperson Grace Sinkamba states that while recognising the legitimate role of the Registrar of Societies to promote compliance of societies, it is their considered view that this must not be to the detriment of the country’s democracy as espoused in the Republican Constitution.
Ms. Sinkamba says institutions such as the Registrar of Societies should be more concerned about deepening the country’s democratic culture as opposed to threatening de-registration, and she adds that the Registrar should instead support societies, including the PF to ensure that they are compliant in the best interest of democracy and good governance.
NGOCC has since urged the former ruling party to urgently address the compliance issues raised to ensure that it remains a legal entity in the interest of the country’s democracy as Zambia’s Constitution states that the country is a democratic and multi-party State, and recognises the important role of political parties in the governance of the nation.
Meanwhile,Operation Young Vote (OYV) states that while the Patriotic Front (PF) is a significant political entity to the whole multi-party discourse and political democratic equation of Zambia, the party and its leadership must own up and do what is right whether legally or administratively and submit what is being requested by the Registrar of Societies.
OYV Executive Director Guess Nyirenda states that the PF must not use their failure to follow the law to seek public sympathy and spreading propaganda of the country going for numerous by elections will not work as the Republican Constitution is very clear by espousing in Article 72 (9) that “If a political party is dissolved, a Member of Parliament shall retain the members seat as an independent member”.
