CONCOURT HAS GROSSLY MISLED ITSELF, EDGAR LUNGU TO GO BACK TO CONCOURT
…If Edgar Lungu was eligible to participate in the 2021 presidential elections, as ruled by the Court, he is eligible to stand in 2026…
Lusaka-Tuesday, 10th December 2024
Former President Edgar Lungu is filing a fresh petition to the Constitution Court to challenge its ruling delivered on 10th December 2024 that he is not eligible to participate in the 2026 general elections.
President Lungu has directed his lawyers, Makebi Zulu Advocates and Ellis & Company, to pursue the challenge as the Constitutional Court grossly misdirected itself.
He has stated that having expunged the prayer to declare the Legal Resources Foundation matter that has made the court to rule on matters that were no longer part of the record and proceedings.
Based on one above, President Lungu has been denied an opportunity to effectively be heard on the issue to declare the Constitutional Court earlier judgments to be overturned.
It is important to determine the fact that rendered him eligible to stand in 2021.
President Lungu holds the view that the Court did not state any special circumstances necessitating the departure from the courts position on the Legal Resources Foundation case.
He has also stated that the dissenting judgment in the Legal Resources Foundation which this court has effectively adopted was part of the decision of the court and raised no issue that can be said to have been held unresolved.
President Lungu has stated that there being no provision for the Constitutional Court to revisit its own decisions in the Constitution as is provided for in relation to the Supreme Court, the decision to revisit the decision remains unconstitutional as it provided that the Constitutional Court is bound by its own decisions.
He has stated that whereas the court justified his participation in the 12th August 2021 election to have been based on an error on the part of the court, the court did not pronounce itself on the legality of the said election.
The Court was expected to nullify such an election.
The Court overturned its earlier judgements, stating that they were wrong judgments of the court but failed to determine the eligibility of such an election.
We have expressed deep concerns regarding the independence and autonomy of the Judiciary and has shown by the events leading to this matter and its eventual judgment, the status of the Judiciaryrwmains our primary concerns.
Ii is simple. If he was eligible to have participated in the 2021 presidential elections, he would definitely be eligible to participate in the 2026 elections.
Issued by;
Hon. Raphael Nakacinda
SECRETARY GENERAL
PATRIOTIC FRONT