DEMOCRACY AT RISK
Is Zambia on a slippery slope towards a dictatorship?
A crackdown on opposing voices — in the media and from political parties — has Zambian civil society lamenting the country’s slide towards dictatorship
Last week Zambia’s national assembly speaker Patrick Matibini took the dramatic step of suspending 48 opposition MPs from parliament for a period of 30 days. Their crime? The MPs needed to be punished for their "unauthorised absence" from parliament on March 17, when president Edgar Lungu delivered his state of the nation address, Matibini said. Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has been in prison since April. He faces treason charges after opposition vehicles failed to make way for Lungu’s motorcade. Zambia, with a reputation for political stability, now faces a chorus of criticism over Lungu’s moves to crack down on dissent. The suspended MPs had boycotted Lungu’s address, saying they did not recognise his legitimacy as an elected leader. This came after Zambia’s constitutional court failed to hear an election petition filed by Hichilema after presidential elections last August.
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