Zambian citizens, democracy and political participation

The end of one-party rule in Zambia towards the end of the 1980’s, resulted in Zambians getting an opportunity to monitor the performance of their government on governance issues with a view to helping to shape their own destiny. The holding of multiparty elections in 1991 and the proliferation of political parties underscored their preference for democratic government. This briefing paper summarizes the findings of a 2009 Afrobarometer survey on Zambian citizens’ perception regarding political participation. It, however, points out that the Zambian political environment still remains characterized by very low levels of interaction between constituents and political representatives.

 The paper reveals the following findings:

• Popular support for democracy - Support for democracy has been rejuvenated with 80% of Zambians, in 2009, holding the view that democracy is preferable to any other kind of government compared to 75% in 1999, 70% in 2003, and 64% in 2005

• Rejection of authoritarian rule - Zambians have continued to reject authoritarian regimes in their quest for democratic government. More than seven in ten Zambians have persistently rejected military rule, one-party rule or one-man rule since the first survey conducted in 1999

• Satisfaction with democracy - less than one quarter of Zambians consider the country as full democracy while 64% describe Zambia as either a democracy with major problems (39%) or a democracy with minor problems (25%)

• Political participation - In spite of the high levels of support for democracy, 60% of the Zambians who voted in 2008 Presidential elections, complain about inadequate interaction between them and their elected representatives

• Attitudes to the Constitution - In line with their support for democracy and effective political participation, 50% of the voters hold the view that the revised Constitution should be approved through a referendum while 28% believe that Parliament should handle the matter.

The paper concludes that satisfaction with the way democracy works in Zambia has remained below the 50% mark between 2005 and 2009. Most Zambians are also not satisfied with a political environment that does not lead to a change of the ruling party for prolonged periods of time even if they are free to express their political opinions and to vote as they please.