The legal framework of multi-party democracy and freedom of assembly and association in Zambia

Abstract

The main feature of today's global politics revolves around the doctrine of democracy. The notion that the form of government in a given country is closely linked to its economic potential, now more than ever before, is receiving global universal assent. The above statement is true to explain why in the 1990's a 'wind of change' blew across the continent of Africa with citizens yearning for greater democratic governments and meaningful participation in the running and improvement of their political and social economic conditions. The above statement can be said to be true to the political scenario of Zambia. The realisation of this much cherished Democracy however, is at risk of being hijacked by greedy politicians and individuals who may use their positions and status to serve their private advantage. Thus, when the citizenry of a country cannot fully participate in the political and socio-economic process of their country, there cannot be said to exist self-government in the spirit of Democracy. This paper undertakes to examine the extent to which the tenets of Multi-party Democracy have been upheld in Zambia, under the re-introduced Multi-party Democracy in Zambia, it examines the extent to which the Third Republic has delinked itself to the First and Second Republic political order and Legal structures and which are largely , pieces of legislation inherited from the pre-independence colonial era. This is important in order to ascertain whether or not Zambia's multiparty democracy has been consistent with the universal tenets of democracy, namely; constitutionalism, separation of powers and the rule of law.