Parliament being expanded to accommodate from 165 to 281 seats
…Government spending $2.1million to refurbish Parliament…
Government embarks on K39m parley chamber expansion
GOVERNMENT has started refurbishing works at the National Assembly Chamber at a cost of K39 million to accommodate an expanded Parliament ahead of the August 2026 sittings.
The expansion follows the creation of 70 new constituencies under the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2025.
Under the amended Constitution, the National Assembly to get c will consist of 226 constituency-based Members of Parliament (MPs), 40 members elected through proportional representation, comprising 20 women, 15 youths and five persons with disabilities, 11 presidential nominated MPs, the Vice President, Speaker, first and second deputy speakers bringing the total membership to about 281.
Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing, and Urban Development Permanent Secretary Albert Malama confirmed the development, stating that the project is scheduled for completion by August 14, 2026.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS Professor Malama said the scope of work involves redesigning the chamber’s seating arrangement to accommodate the enlarged House, which will now comprise about 281 Members of Parliament (MPs).
“As a ministry, we are responsible for the construction of public infrastructure and this particular matter falls within our mandate. What we decided was to look at the Parliament Chamber as it is and see how we could reorganise the seating,” Prof Malama said.
“We have reorganised the seating and increased the number of seats, which now stands at 281. In fact, the design itself can accommodate up to 290 seats just to provide some extra capacity,”he added.
Malama expressed confidence that the refurbishment works would be completed within the timeframe agreed with the National Assembly, which is immediately after the general election.
“We are very confident that we are going to finish the works by the date that has been given by the National Assembly, which is August 14. All the works have to be completed by that date,” he said.
The completion of the project will ensure that the National Assembly is ready to accommodate the enlarged House immediately after the declaration of results and swearing-in of newly elected members of parliament.