Tayali Calls for Presidential Term Limit to Be Scrapped

Chilufya Tayali called for the presidential term limit to be scrapped, describing the ten-year ceiling as retrogressive and bad for Zambia in a video now circulating widely on social media. He said frequent changes at the top of government denied the country stability, because…

Chilufya Tayali called for the presidential term limit to be scrapped, describing the ten-year ceiling as retrogressive and bad for Zambia in a video now circulating widely on social media. He said frequent changes at the top of government denied the country stability, because presidents were forced out just as their work began to take shape.

“This term limit is counterproductive. This term limit is retrogressive for our country,” Mr Tayali said. “It is not good. Term limit is bad for our country.”

The politician directly challenged the idea that ten years should be the most any president can serve. “Ten years is a maximum. Who said ten years is a maximum?” he asked.

He said a president spends the first five years getting organised and the next five building. The president is then compelled to leave office while a successor comes in and starts again. He said that cycle could not be allowed to continue.

“We cannot be changing,” he said. “No, this thing will not continue. We don’t need that.”

Stability in leadership ran through the entire message, and he was clear about where he wanted it. He used the Bemba phrase pamulu palya, meaning “up there at the top”, to point directly at the presidency.

“I want stability pamulu palya. I want stability pamulu palya. I want stability on the presidential level,” Mr Tayali said. “I’m telling you, whether appointed or not appointed, I want stability in terms of leadership.”

He was quick to separate the proposal from any personal ambition. He said he would not be a candidate in 2031 but already had someone in mind to support. He declined to name that person, saying he first wanted to see how events unfolded and to assess the individual.

“I’m not saying this because I want to stand in 2031. I’m not standing in 2031, but I have got somebody that I want to support,” he said.

He reserved his harshest language for unnamed individuals he accused of positioning themselves for the next presidential succession. He dismissed what he called “this nonsense of you scheming and deceiving and planning for 2031”. He said that was exactly why he intended to stay in the fight, to watch those he described as “fools who will be jumping”.

“Because now, this one is going to be a successor. Bloody fool. Bloody fool,” he said. “Who told you that you are going to be a successor?”

He did not identify who the remarks were aimed at or say whether they were directed at anyone within government.

The video drew swift responses online. Many users invoked the late President Frederick Chiluba and his failed attempt to secure a third term in office.

“Zambia is full of history and we need not to forget,” one user wrote. “Late president FTJ tried but failed.”

The same user expressed confidence that President Hakainde Hichilema would not go down that road, while accepting that such views would still be aired. “I know my president Mr HH can not do that,” the comment read. “Of course, people can be speaking like this.”

Another user issued a direct warning to anyone tempted to take up the proposal, pointing again to the Chiluba era. “If they remember what happened when FTJ tried to go for a third term, then they should think twice about it,” the comment read.

Not every reaction was defiant. One user struck a resigned tone, saying the ruling side commanded enough seats in the House to change the law as it pleased and that citizens had little choice but to accept the outcome.

“I think this is the fire we can not afford to quench at the moment,” the user wrote. “They’ve got numbers in parliament to pass any law they feel fit. So we just have to live with their conditions and terms.”

The responses show where public reaction is splitting. The Chiluba episode is still a live warning for many. Others place their trust in the Head of State. Some believe the arithmetic in Parliament will settle the matter regardless of public sentiment.

Mr Tayali has not named the candidate he intends to back in 2031, or the individuals he branded fools. He also did not set out how he proposes the term limit should be removed.