Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) says democratic rights for Zambians will remain oppressed until the Public Order Act which was amended in 1996 is repealed.
Speaking during a Public Order Act symposium in Lusaka, TIZ legal counsel Francis Mwale said the Act, despite its amendment 16 years ago still had a lot of problematic features.
He said the government must consider repealing it or refining it further in order to conform it to the tenets of democracy.
“The requirement of seven days advance notice in every situation is a prior restraint on the exercise of the fundamental rights. What this means is that one cannot participate in a public meeting, procession or demonstration unless one first notifies the police which is wrong, he said.