{"id":78876,"date":"2025-12-08T12:30:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T12:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections"},"modified":"2025-12-08T12:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T12:33:10","slug":"govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections","title":{"rendered":"Govt Promises Public Gatherings Bill Before 2026 Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>GOVERNMENT has assured that the Public Gatherings Bill, which is meant to replace the Public Order Act, will be presented to Parliament before the August 2026 general elections.<\/p>\n

Information and Media Minister Cornelius Mweetwa says the draft is currently under review at the Ministry of Justice, where legal experts are finalizing its contents before it is submitted to the National Assembly.<\/p>\n

Mr. Mweetwa has told Phoenix News that amendments to the existing Public Order Act are necessary as the legislation transitions into the new Public Gatherings Bill.<\/p>\n

He notes that once enacted, the law will allow citizens to hold processions while ensuring public safety and maintaining national peace.<\/p>\n

Mr. Mweetwa adds that the bill seeks to guarantee citizens\u2019 rights to assemble without infringing on the rights of others.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. GOVERNMENT has assured that the Public Gatherings Bill, which is meant to replace the Public Order Act, will be presented to Parliament before the August 2026 general elections. Information and Media Minister Cornelius Mweetwa says the draft is currently under review at the Ministry of Justice, where legal experts are finalizing its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":78875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-78876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nGovt Promises Public Gatherings Bill Before 2026 Elections - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"GOVERNMENT has assured that the Public Gatherings Bill, which is meant to replace the Public Order Act, will be presente ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Govt Promises Public Gatherings Bill Before 2026 Elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GOVERNMENT has assured that the Public Gatherings Bill, which is meant to replace the Public Order Act, will be presente ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-08T12:30:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-08T12:33:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/sm_1765197176.611776.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Govt Promises Public Gatherings Bill Before 2026 Elections\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-08T12:30:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-08T12:33:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections\"},\"wordCount\":146,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2025\/12\/sm_1765197176.611776.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/govt-promises-public-gatherings-bill-before-2026-elections\",\"name\":\"Govt Promises Public Gatherings Bill Before 2026 Elections - 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