Why Is Zambia Talking About a Third Term Again?

President Hakainde Hichilema has barely begun his second term, but Zambia is already debating whether a president should be allowed to remain in office beyond the constitutional two-term limit.

The latest discussion follows comments by UPND PR MP Florence Chileshe Chama arguing that Hichilema should remain beyond 2031. Civil society figures and political commentators have responded, warning against attempts to remove presidential term limits.

But there is an important fact beneath all the political noise: no formal Government proposal to remove the presidential two-term limit has been announced.

And Zambia has been here before.

Towards the end of Frederick Chiluba's second term, a campaign emerged to allow him to remain in office. It divided the ruling MMD, triggered resistance from civil society, churches and political figures, and ultimately failed. Chiluba left office in 2002.

Years later, the issue returned differently under Edgar Lungu, when the courts had to determine how his first period as President following Michael Sata's death affected the constitutional term limit.

Hichilema's circumstances are different. He was elected in 2021 and re-elected in August 2026. Under Article 106 of the Constitution as it stands today, a person who has twice held office as President cannot be elected President again.

So why is the third-term discussion starting with almost five years of Hichilema's current mandate still to run?

And why does the issue keep returning in Zambian politics?

We look back at Chiluba, the Lungu eligibility battle and the constitutional rules governing Hichilema's second term.