The ruling party failed to garner the two-thirds majority of members of parliament for the bill ahead of presidential and parliamentary polls set for later this year.
According to Ronnie Shikapwasha, Zambia's information minister, the bill was intended to promote the participation of women, youths and the disabled through proportional representation in parliament.
Only 96 lawmakers from the ruling party voted in support of the bill, with opposition members and at least 20 ruling party lawmakers abstaining from the vote. At least 106 members were required to vote for the bill for it to go through.
Parliamentary speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa told the house that the failure of the bill had closed the door to the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill.
Among the proposals in the failed amendment bill is the requirement that a presidential candidate get at least 50% of the vote before being declared the winner.
Some of the proposals in the new bill opposed by the opposition include the outlawing of homosexuality and the raising of the academic qualifications of presidential candidates to a minimum of a university degree.
Zambia, Africa's largest copper producer, has gone through a turbulent constitutional history since gaining independence from Britain in the 1960s.
The 1964 colonial-era constitution was amended in 1972 to put in place a one- party state. In 1991, a third constitution was hastily drawn up for a transition to a multi-party system of governance. That was heavily amended in 1996, mainly to strengthen the presidency.
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