By McDonald Chipenzi
IS IT THE TERM OR HOLDING OFFICE IN CONTENTION ON PRESIDENT EDGAR LUNGU’S ELIGIBILITY DEBATE?
It was amazing listening and watching a video clip of President EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU claiming he has only served one TERM because the 2015 one was for the Late Michael Sata.
Even if power is sweet, such sentiments are least expected from a lawyer of many years of practice unless he wants to mislead himself as he did to his ministers in 2016.
The law is clear and instructive on the TERM and the COnCourt asserted itself on the issue of the term which is noncontestable by all standards in line with Art 106(6).
However, the law and the Constitution do not disqualify anyone on account of SERVING A TERM OR TWO TERMS but for “HOLDING OFFICE TWICE”.
The provision of the serving two Terms as disqualification was in the previous provisions in the Constitution.
The current Constitution does not even mention a term as an issue of contention or disqualification for one to aspire for the office of Presidency in Zambia.
What Article 106 (1) talks about is only a term for the President which is put at five years running concurrently with that of parliament except the President stays on until the President-elect is sworn into office.
Article 106(3) clearly makes it as a disqualification for any person who has HELD OFFICE TWICE AS PRESIDENT. SUCH A PERSON IS NOT eligible for election as President.
This article does not even talk about one serving two Terms or elected twice but one who has held office twice is not eligible to aspire for the 3rd holding of office.
How, then, does one hold office according to the law and the current Constitution?
Article 106(2) guides that ” a President shall HOLD OFFICE from the date the President-elect is sworn into office and ending on the date the next President-elect is sworn into office”. Hasn’t President Lungu done that? He has. So he does not qualify to hold office thrice.
From the above, the spirit and letter of the constitutional provision is not about the TERM limit but the holding of OFFICE LIMIT which is an issue and in contention.
The constitution define HOLDING OFFICE as being SWORN INTO OFFICE AND ENDING ON THE DATE THE NEXT PRESIDENT-ELECT IS SWORN INTO OFFICE AND not when the TERM expires.
President Lungu was sworn into office in 2015 and this ended when in August 2016 after Gereral Election he became President-elect and in September 2016 this President-elect, EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU was sworn into office to hold the same office as President for the second time or twice.
This second or twice holding of office started in September 2016 when he was sworn into office and will end when the President-elect shall be sworn into office after the August 2021 General Election.
And what is sworn into office of President-elect mean? Article 105 (1) instructs that “the President-elect shall assume office after being sworn in by the Chief Justice or, in the absence of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice.
Now, wasn’t President Lungu sworn into office twice? Yes he did when he was first elected in 2015 by the Chief Justice and in 2016, Yes, he did though under contention whether it was the Justices that swore him in or the Registrar of the Judiciary!
To this end, President Lungu must not cheat himself that he qualifies to HOLD OFFICE for the THIRD TIME. He does not even slightest qualify by law may be only as PF party president .
I am very sure that the Presidential Nomination Form for 2021 General Election will have a clause that will require all aspirants to indicate whether they have HELD OFFICE TWICE AS PRESIDENT in accordance with Article 106(3) of the republican Constitution?
What will be President LUNGU’s response? NO OR YES? And MIND YOU giving false INFORMATION TO A PUBLIC OFFIER OR making false declaration is an offence in Zambia.
I submit.