Lusaka — The Evangelical Bishops for Peace in Africa (EBPA) have advised the church in Zambia against taking a partisan stance over the raging third term debate if they are to properly play their role as mediators.

Secretary-general of the Botswana-based bishops, Lesego Kebonyemodisa said in Lusaka yesterday churches were supposed to be the final mediator in the raging debate and should therefore be neutral.

'Church leaders should rise above the crooked and wicked generations and remain blameless and guiltless in all circumstances and in all situations,' the Bishop said, quoting from Philippines 2:15 of the Bible.

He stressed that the church should at all costs avoid a situation where they cheapened themselves through partisan positions which compromised their status as the salt and light of the Zambian people.

'May God inspire them and correct them to be true beacons of peace, love and stability and not inciters and instigators of trouble in Zambia,' the bishop said.

He commended religious bodies and churches that had chosen to remain non- partisan in the ongoing debate.

He said the evangelical bishops visited Zambia from March 19 to March 30 and held meetings, discussions and consultations with various groups of citizens in Zambia over the current debate.

After the consultations, the bishops discovered that some churches were in courtship and partners with various NGOs and opposition parties or the MMD, thus being partisan in their conduct.

Bishop Kebonyemodisa agreed with foreign diplomats who urged Zambians to exhaustively debate the question of the third term.

He said the evangelical bishops believed that Zambia was going through the same democratic process that European countries underwent and it was only fair that Zambians be allowed to debate their political destiny.

'Allow the true and genuine democratic process in Zambia take its course. There is no need to insult and call each other names,' he said.

In all that the Zambians debated, said and did, Bishop Kebonyemodisa added, the poorest of the poor were supposed to benefit at the end of the debate.

The Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) have ganged up with the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and some NGOs against the third term.

And the Public Interest Foundation (Pifo) yesterday said a national referendum was the best way to peacefully decide on the call for constitutional amendments.

Pifo chairperson Gershom Musonda said at a Press briefing in Lusaka that the debate should be broadened instead of it being narrowed to Dr Chiluba's third term.

'We need to put personalities aside and look at the need to extensively reform the Constitution so that it can be responsive to people's basic needs,' Mr. Musonda said.

He said the people opposed to constitutional amendments were peddling the views of the minority as they had no capacity or the intention to allow a broader number of people to debate.

The National Youth Alliance (NYA) also called for the amendment of Article 76 of the Zambian Constitution to enhance the powers of the Electoral Commission.

NYA national co-ordinator Emmanuel Kamwi said in Lusaka yesterday the Electoral Commission in its current form had insufficient powers to effectively carry out its functions.

Mr. Kamwi said the Electoral Commission neither had judicial powers to prosecute electoral offences nor expedite electoral legal proceedings and monitor electoral irregularities.

Mr. Kamwi said the Electoral Commission did not have sufficient power compared to the Referendum Commission if constituted under the Referendum Act Chapter 20 of the laws of Zambia.

He also called on the Republican President to facilitate and constitute a Referendum Commission to facilitate constitutional amendments that would be representative of the views of Zambians.

Meanwhile, the Zambian Indigenous Front (ZIF) has said President Chiluba should not be forced to uphold, defend and protect the Republican Constitution against the will of the people.

ZIF secretary-general Kangwa Mutale said yesterday in Lusaka President Chiluba cannot uphold, defend and protect the Constitution against the wish of its owners, the people of Zambia.

Mr. Mutale said his organisation would not accept to hold presidential and parliamentary elections under the current Constitution.

He said people of Zambia should be allowed to debate the third term because it was not an offence to advocate amendments to the Constitution.