Speaking when he featured on millennium tv on Friday, Chiinda expressed shock and dismay at the fast-tracked constitutional amendment process announced by President Hakainde Hichilema, which he says has excluded the voices of ordinary Zambians and critical stakeholders.

“It is alarming that the President can boldly claim that Zambians have agreed to amend the constitution when no meaningful consultation has taken place. This is nothing but a constitutional coup,” Chiinda declared. “As a nation, we have always valued participatory constitution-making processes, yet today, the will of the people is being sidelined.”

At the center of the controversy is the proposed amendment to Article 68, which seeks to remove the limit on the number of Members of Parliament that the President can nominate. Currently, the law allows a maximum of eight nominated MPs, but under the proposed changes, this limit would be scrapped, giving the President unchecked power to fill Parliament with handpicked appointees.

“If we allow this amendment, the President will have the power to flood Parliament with as many nominated MPs as he desires. This will completely erode the principle of representative democracy and undermine the legitimacy of the National Assembly,” Chiinda said. “We cannot sit back and allow the executive to bulldoze such an important matter without the people’s consent.”

Chiinda further questioned the suspicious timing of the amendments, which come less than two years before Zambia’s 2026 general elections. He also raised concerns about proposed changes to Article 52(6), which would allow elections to proceed without fresh nominations if a candidate withdraws a change that many fear could be abused to manipulate electoral outcomes.

“We are not against constitutional reforms, but we are against their abuse. Why the rush? Why now? Let us go to the 2026 elections under the current 2016 constitution, and after that, we can engage in genuine, inclusive constitutional reforms,” Chiinda insisted.

Civil society organizations and opposition leaders have echoed similar sentiments, warning that Zambia risks sliding into constitutional instability and political turmoil if the government proceeds without public buy-in.