Editing Politics of Zambia (section)

== Government and constitution ==
{{Update|inaccurate=yes|Section|date=August 2011}}

The constitution promulgated on 25 August 1973, abrogated the original 1964 constitution. The new constitution and the national elections that followed in December 1973 were the final steps in achieving what was called a "one-party participatory democracy".

The 1973 constitution provided for a strong president and a unicameral National Assembly. National policy was formulated by the Central Committee of the [[United National Independence Party]] (UNIP), the sole legal party in [[Zambia]]. The cabinet executed the central committee's policy.

In accordance with the intention to formalise UNIP supremacy in the new system, the constitution stipulated that the sole candidate in [[election]]s for the office of [[President (government title)|president]] was the person selected to be the president of UNIP by the party's general conference. The second-ranking person in the Zambian hierarchy was UNIP's secretary-general.

In December 1990, at the end of a tumultuous year that included [[riot]]s in the capital and an attempted [[coup]], President Kaunda signed legislation ending UNIP's monopoly on power. In response to growing popular demand for multiparty [[democracy]], and after lengthy, difficult negotiations between the Kaunda government and opposition groups, Zambia enacted a new constitution in August 1991. The constitution enlarged the National Assembly from 136 members to a maximum of 158 members, established an electoral commission, and allowed for more than one presidential candidate who no longer had to be a member of UNIP. The constitution was amended again in 1996 to set new limits on the presidency (including a retroactive two-term limit, and a requirement that both parents of a candidate be Zambian-born). The National Assembly comprises 150 directly elected members, up to ten (usually eight) presidentially appointed members, and a speaker.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Zambia - Key Facts | url=http://www.clgf.org.uk/default/assets/File/Country_profiles/Zambia.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018234327/http://www.clgf.org.uk/default/assets/File/Country_profiles/Zambia.pdf | archive-date=2016-10-18}}</ref> Zambia is divided into ten [[province]]s, each administered by an appointed Provincial [[Political minister|minister]] who essentially performs the duties of a [[governor]].

As of 2010, a new constitution is in the process of being drafted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zambian-economist.com/2010/06/press-release-draft-national.html|title=Press Release : Draft National Constitution|website=www.zambian-economist.com}}</ref>