Zambia election outcome prompts call for legislated quotas

Zambian gender activists are using a constitutional review process to make a case for legislated quotas following a dismal outcome in the country’s September 2011 local government and national elections.

Women won just 6.1% of local government seats, the same as before. Parliamentary results were equally disappointing with the percentage of women dropping from 15 to 11.2 À“ far from the SADC Protocol target of 50/50. This is especially disappointing as it was Zambia’s last election before the 2015 deadline.

These results also raise concerns about the quality and fairness of local service delivery. If only 85 women out of 1382 people are contributing to day-to-day local authority decisions, it is likely that women’s demands and priorities will not be adequately addressed.

Zambia follows the FPTP or “winner-takes-allÀ electoral system. There is no quota or scheme that reserves seats for women. Women and men compete on the same platform but “from different vantage points.À

There has been limited national debate or discussion about altering the country’s current electoral system since a new system was proposed by the Electoral Reforms Technical Committee in 2005. The Committee recommended a version of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system used in Lesotho .   A dual ballot system, MMP allows voters to cast two ballots: a constituency vote and a party vote. Constituency representation in the National Assembly is thus determined by the former while the latter compensates parties that have won fewer constituency seats. Candidates are then selected from a party list depending on the results of this party vote.

Table 2.8: Zambia 2011 local government election results

Source: Compiled by Gender Links from data collected from Electoral Commission of Zambia and Zambia Women’s Lobby (March 2012).

Table 2.8 reflects Zambia’s most recent local government election results disaggregated by sex. It shows the percentage of seats won by each party. A total of 1382 representatives were elected and candidates were selected from seven parties.

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) and Patriotic Front (PF) obtained the most votes.   PF elected the most women, 44 in total, which is still a mere 8.3% of those elected.

The single digit women’s proportions prove there is still plenty of work to be done within political parties. Women barely occupy 10% of party space in local government. Moreover, while there was a shift in voting patterns in the 2011 election and the Zambian electorate ushered in change by rejecting the ruling party, none of the main parties addressed the country’s obligation to gender equality as stipulated in the SADC Protocol.

Respondents to a research study identified several reasons why Zambia has been unable to achieve equal representation of women and men in decision-making positions:

• Party Support: Parties did not adopt women candidates to stand for election. Men are considered more likely to win.
• Culture, patriarchy and beliefs: The belief that women have no place in governance and decision-making persists in Zambia and other SADC countries.
• Identity, conflict and violence: Issues of women’s identity as far as how they are recognised both within and outside party structures are related to the culture, beliefs and attitudes that prevail in a society. Threats of violence prevented some women from running.   The lead-up to the election was fraught with reports of party-on-party violence.
• Financial constraints: Parties did not provide funds for women’s campaigns. In some cases women were told they would receive investment from a party only to later learn it was not available.
• Media portrayal of women: Journalists contribute to the character assassination of women political aspirants. Women, especially at the local level wary of the potential repercussions of a possible negative media campaign.
• Capacity building efforts: In the absence of legal frameworks and reserved seats for women, the onus is on civil society and institutions such as ECZ to keep the on the political agenda in non-election years.

A quota or system that reserves seats would enable women to contest male candidates in an open FPTP system. Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), the former ruling party in Lesotho, has an internal 30% party quota so that women stand a good chance of significant wins in the country’s FPTP system. Women LCD politicians have 32% overall representation within local government and constitute 44.1% of the party’s overall seats.

If these systems are implemented there is a need for greater capacity building and training to facilitate women’s access to the necessary political platforms. This type of empowerment helps minimise issues of safety and security and protects women from abuse and character assassination.

The foundation for moving toward a quota was already laid during the Constitutional reform process. Various institutions have proposed that 30% of local authority seats be reserved for women. This could work for Zambia as it has in Lesotho. Draft Constitution proposals include a call for a legislated quota to ensure that Zambia meets the 50/50 target. Zambia may have missed the 2015 mark to obtain 50% women’s representation but attaining gender equality in decision-making remains a crucial endeavour.