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The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Zambia, a landlocked country in southern Africa, east of Angola.[1] The seat of the assembly is at the capital of the country, Lusaka, and it is presided over by a Speaker and two deputy Speakers. The term of the assembly is five years, unless it is dissolved earlier.[2] The National Assembly has existed since 1964, before which it was known as the Legislative Council.[3]
National Assembly of Zambia | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Seats | 167 (156 elected members + the Vice President and 10 Presidential appointees) |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 12 August 2021 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Zambian National Assembly building | |
| Website | |
| National Assembly of Zambia | |
Since 2016, the assembly has had 167 members. Of those, 156 are elected by the first-past-the-post system in single-member constituencies, a further eight are appointed by the President, and three others are ex officio members: the Vice President, the Speaker, and one of the deputy speakers.[a][4] The constitution mandates that the constituencies are delimited after every census by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. During delimitation, the commission ensures that constituencies are wholly within districts, while considering other factors like the "history, diversity and cohesiveness of the constituency".[5]
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| Year | Details | Elected constituencies |
Elections |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Zambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia was renamed as the National Assembly of Zambia.[3] | 75 | – |
| 1967 | A constitutional amendment led to the National Assembly comprising 105 constituencies[6] | 105 | 1968[6] |
| 1973 | Zambia became a one-party state after the enacting of the 1973 constitution.[7] The number of constituencies was increased to 125.[8] | 125 | 1973,[9] 1978,[10] 1983[11] and 1988[12] |
| 1990, 1991 | Zambia returned to being a multi-party democracy in 1990[7] and the number of constituencies was increased to 150, in 1991.[13] | 150 | 1991[14] 1996,[15] 2001,[16] 2006[17] and 2011[18] |
| 2016 | There was an amendment to the constitution whereby the number of constituencies was increased to 156.[19] | 156 | 2016[20] and 2021[21] |
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- One of the deputy speakers is elected from outside the National Assembly, while the other is chosen from among the elected members of the house.[2]
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