B. Zambia
1. Constitutional Review
On March 29, 2011, Zambia's eight-year constitutional review process collapsed when the Constitutional Amendment Bill failed to garner the necessary two-thirds vote of the National Assembly. The draft constitution had been widely criticized by civil society groups for, among other things, failing to include economic, social, and cultural rights in the bill of rights and inadequately protecting the rights of women.
2. Presidential Election
On September 23, 2011, opposition leader Michael Chilufya Sata was sworn in as the fifth president of the Republic of Zambia, ending twenty years of rule by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), which had governed the country since multiparty democracy was established in 1991. A joint team of fifty-two observers from Africa described the tripartite elections as credible and held in conformity with international and regional laws, norms and standards, though isolated incidents of violence reportedly occurred.
