Ntewewe Wants ‘Wamuyaya’ Candidates Barred from the Ballot
The Young African Leaders Initiative has revived the debate around perpetual election candidates being barred from contesting elections.
Speaking when he made an appearance on Prime TV’s Breakfast show on Thursday, YALI President Andrew Ntewewe said the country cannot afford to continue allowing individuals to run political parties like family businesses as doing so defeats the intentions of democracy.
He said the country’s democracy can only thrive when there is competition in and within political parties starting from the top leadership in political parties and that limiting the number of times one appears on a presidential ballot would open up spaces for intra party democracy.
He has since called on Ndola Central Member of Paliament Frank Ngambi to ensure that the Bill to limit the number of apperance on Presidential Ballot is tabled in the next sitting of parliament.
“The fact is that the ethos, the principles of the constitution is that even if you are loved by the people as their President you are limited to 2 terms in office so why should it be the president of a political party to be wamuyaya when for instance at a presidential level you have already provided that it should be two(2) terms so when shall we have to put a limit on how many times an individual can appear on a presidential ballot,” he said.
And Ntewewe has expressed opportunism that a number of Bills will be tabled in the next sitting of parliament.
He explained a number of good laws were included in the amended constitution but that they have not been actualised by parliament.
He said he is hopeful that parliamentarians will put their partisan interests aside and ensure that Bills such as the political parties bill is passed so that political parties can start to operate as institutions.
He said democracy is a vehicle for development hence the institutionalisation of political parties will come with its benefits for the ordinary people as opposition political parties will have increased authority.
Another Bill that Ntewewe thinks should be discussed is the loan and grants Bill which will actualise the oversight role of parliament as regards borrowing by government.
He said the law for parliament to regulate borrowing by parliament is dormant and that it will continue to be like that if parliament doesn’t table the Bill in the next session.
The call to “regulate individuals with insatiable appetite for power” was first made by former ZANASU Vice President Prince Ndoyi who has since joined MMD.
Ndoyi who made the call early this year observed that youths in the country were finding it hard to move on the political ladder because of the continued hold-on to power by the same leaders in political parties.