COURTESY CALL ON THE RT HON MADAM NELLY B K MUTTI, MP, BY THE FINNISH PARLIAMENT

A delegation of Finnish Parliamentarians led by Mr Jouni Ovasaka from Demo Finland an organization that supports democracy by parties for parties on Tuesday, 25th April, 2022 met the Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Nelly B. K Mutti, MP at Parliament Buildings to discuss various issues pertaining to parliamentary work and the support of democracy by parties. Speaker Mutti expressed the need for a law reformation in order for Zambia to enhance female representation in Parliament as is the case with Parliaments like Rwanda, Finland, Sweden. She noted that the National Assembly of Zambia had been receiving support from the European Union (EU), of which Finland is a part, since 2014.

Speaker Mutti added that the National Assembly is one of the institutions being supported under the European funded “Support to Effectiveness and Transparency in the management of Public Resources (EFFECT)” Programme specifically under the 11th European Development Fund whose specific objective is to improve accountability, transparency and effectiveness in the management of public resources and increase domestic revenue mobilization. The EU is also supporting a project on Democracy Strengthening in Zambia (DSZ), a four-year project targeted at the National Assembly of Zambia, the Electoral Commission of Zambia, the Judiciary and other key electoral stakeholders with a view of enhancing the institutional capacities and promoting transparency, accountability and citizen participation within the Institution.

The Demo Finland organization takes an in-depth overview of democracy issues in expert representations, panel discussions and debates. In addition to discussions on democratic decline it also looks at how to support democracy. Demo’s principle policy also looks at strengthening women’s political participation in government and parliament.