President Mbumba applauded for reform allowing civil servants to run for office without job loss

President Nangolo Mbumba has been commended for signing a new law that allows civil servants to run for office without risking their jobs.

Previously, article 47 of the Electoral Act of 2014 required public servants nominated for National Assembly elections to resign from their jobs.

The new amendments to the Electoral Act ensure public servants can take leave during campaigns and only resign if elected.

Political analysts have hailed this as a positive step towards reducing barriers for government employees who aspire to serve in parliament.

Political analyst Henning Melber yesterday said in principle, the amendments, to some extent, ensure that public servants are not discriminated against when aspiring to play a role as elected members of parliament.

“They should not be punished for making themselves available by being forced out of employment with no security left if they are not elected,” he said.

Parliament yesterday announced that the Electoral Amendment Act of 2024 was signed by Mbumba.

The bill was tabled in parliament earlier this year by urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni.

Under the amendments, government employees can now be nominated by their respective political parties as candidates for the National Assembly, without having to resign from their posts.

Meanwhile, those in the National Council, regional councils and local authority councils can resign at any time before the commencement of their term of office in the National Assembly.

“This is limiting interference in a democratic system, where everyone should be able to stand for elections without being sanctioned,” Melber said.

Melber, however, raised an issue with a clause in the act which prohibits members of the police, military and correctional service and intelligence, from participating in National Assembly elections.

“The exceptions remain debatable. This means due to their profession, they are denied certain fundamental rights as individuals in a democracy. How can that be justified? Why should a police officer or someone in military service or in state security not be eligible for being voted into the National Assembly?” Melber asked.

The amendment act also states that it provides “for remunerated members of the public service and members of the National Council, regional councils and local authority councils who fail or refuse to resign after taking up seats at the National Assembly to be deemed to have resigned”.

If public service employees are 55 or older, they can choose to retire instead.

The amendments state that any job-related obligations, like notice periods, are automatically handled when the election results are announced.

Political analyst Johan Coetzee says the amendments are good for a democratic system but can have detrimental effects if they are abused.

“From the perspective of young public servants and encouraging them to join politics, this can be good for that specific purpose,” he says.

However, the Amendment Act still discriminates against public service workers, as they are required to resign immediately after election results are announced, unlike National Council members, as well as local and regional council workers, who only need to resign when their new term begins, he notes.

This could potentially encourage corruption as the conflict of interest will increase, with a bigger mix between politics and public servants’ involvement in politics.

“And we know that due to patronage, nepotism, cronyism and the cadre deployment trend, it will increase the mix between politics and political appointments,” Coetzee adds.