Blogs

Dear Colleagues,

It is with deep humility that I write to thank you for your steadfast belief in and membership of the ANCL. Your Coordinating Committee continues to make progress in strengthening your Network. In this regard, my message appears as part of a recently revamped website. We are also at an advanced stage of preparations towards a constitutional review process that is important for elections into the Executive Committee at the beginning of the Biennial Conference in Nairobi in August 2020. Information about these processes will be available in due course.

Efforts to enhance the legitimacy of the Ivorian Electoral Commission and comply with decisions of the African Court have informed reforms to its composition. Nevertheless, the reforms may not have effectively addressed concerns over independence and impartiality. In combination with controversy over Ouattara’s plans for a third presidential term, the contest over the Commission could precipitate a prolonged political and even security crisis – writes Pierre Olivier Lobe.

Introduction

The Zambian government is pursuing a constitutional reform process that has lacked inclusivity and popular engagement. The proposed constitutional reforms would, inter alia, alter state-religion relations and enhance the powers of the executive vis-a-vis the legislature, courts, independent institutions, and provinces. In combination, the reform initiative sets a dangerous precedent and could exacerbate, rather than solve, the ongoing political crisis – writes Professor Cephas Lumina.