HH REMAINS LEGITIMATE UPND PRESIDENT, SAYS SIMUUWE
UPND Media Director Mark Simuuwe says President Hakainde Hichilema remains the legitimate leader of the United Party for National Development, as his tenure as party president runs concurrently with his mandate as Republican President.
Mr Simuuwe explained that this position is firmly grounded in Article 79 of the party constitution, which provides clear guidance on the tenure of the party president.
He said the provision states that a party president is eligible for election for an indefinite period, subject to the constitution, and where the party president is elected Republican President, their tenure runs concurrently with their term of office in national leadership, limited to two terms.
“Based on this provision, President Hichilema remains the legitimate party president as his tenure is running concurrently with that of the office of the Republican President,” Mr Simuuwe said.
He added that the General Assembly is responsible for electing the party president and members of the National Management Committee, further reinforcing the constitutional framework guiding party leadership. Mr Simuuwe further clarified that the party constitution does not prescribe a specific date for holding the General Assembly, noting that such authority is vested in the National Management Committee (NMC) under Article 57.
“We also informed ourselves that the party constitution has no specific date for the General Assembly, and the powers to determine this are vested in the National Management Committee. Even the timing of the last General Assembly was decided by the NMC,” he said.
On the interpretation of the five-year interval for the General Assembly, Mr Simuuwe emphasised that the constitution provides for it to be held “every five years” and not “within five years,” cautioning that holding it earlier could undermine the tenure of current office bearers.
“In terms of having the General Assembly every five years, the constitution does not say ‘within five years’ but ‘every five years.’ If it is called earlier, it would mean office bearers serve less than their full term,” he said.
He said that if a strict interpretation of the five-year cycle were to be applied, it should align with the party’s anniversary month, which he noted is not February as some have suggested.
Mr Simuuwe maintained that individuals challenging the current leadership are fully aware of these constitutional provisions but have chosen to disregard them.
“In view of the above, we concluded that masquerades have decided to mimic office bearers with full knowledge of these provisions. Instead of engaging in constitutional debates, we opted to handle the matter as a criminal issue under the law,” he said.
© UPND Media Team