The Constitution of Zambia’s Article 52 (4) states that a person may challenge, before a court or tribunal, as prescribed the nomination of a candidate within seven days of the close of nomination and the court shall hear the case within twenty-one days of its lodgment.
It is on such a basis that the Young African Leader’s Initiative (YALI) have warned that as Lusaka lawyer John Sangwa prepares to challenge President Edgar Lungu’s nomination next year, his candidate should also come with clean hands because they too will challenge him.
YALI President Andrew Ntewewe said Sangwa should not make it seem as though article 52 will only be applicable to one candidate but everyone who will participate in the 2021 elections .
“We have also noticed that one state council by the name of John Sangwa says he is going to fight against the third term , I don’t know what third term he is talking about because in so far as we are concerned the third term only exists in his head it doesn’t exist in reality, the constitutional court was very clear , so Sangwa is playing to the political gallery.” Said Mr. Ntewewe.
He said as he considers challenging President Lungu , his candidate should also brace himself for what’s about to hit him .
“And so Sangwa must understand that if he is preparing any documents to challenge the nomination of President Edgar Lungu , he must understand that President Edgar Lungu is not going to be the only candidate in the 2021 elections , other candidates including the people that are sponsoring him may also be challenged. Equally, those who will need to challenge the eligibility of Hakainde Hichilema or Chishimba Kambwili when time comes should be encouraged to do so. And we hope all candidates whose eligibility will be challenged will respect the decision of our Constitutional Court as it is more competent to handle these challenges. .” said Mr. Ntewewe.
He said next years he election will be very interesting because he foresees a lot of petitions, and he has vowed to participate actively especially on opposition leaders who come to the fore with unclean hands .
“And as YALI, we also want to be very clear that we see our courts of law being filled with a lot of nomination papers and a lot of petitions ahead of the 2021 elections and we want to indicate that as those petitions and those nominations are going to take place we will ably and effectively participate. And those candidates who wish to contest the elections Sangwa should be prepared to actually defend them and ensure that they do not have any skeletons in their wardrobe.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Ntewewe has indicated that the issue of President Lungu’s Eligibility should not arise because it was already litigated and decided by the constitutional court of Zambia .
“Bill number 10 was not about the Eligibility of President Edgar Lungu, No! It wasn’t the questions surrounding the eligibility of President Edgar Lungu were already litigated and decided by the constitutional court of the Republic of Zambia. They want to begin debating a matter that was already closed by the constitutional court.” He emphasized.
Meanwhile Mr. Ntewewe has indicated that failure to pass the Bill has diminished the hopes of women who have been yearning for more women representation through a mechanism built into the electoral system.
He said Instead of being active participants, women will remain campaign dancers for those MPs who failed to give them the right to be represented in Parliament.
He further stated that failure to pass the Bill will mean youths and persons living with disabilities who should, through an electoral system, have a system which allows them to participate in law-making processes remain reduced to militias or chola boys of party leaders who are only needed to help leaders ascend to power.
He added that this also entails that Government will have no need to proceed with consideration of repealing the 1955 colonial Public Order Act which many political players have complained about, including the very people who failed to pass clean up and pass Bill 10.
“Both the Public Order Bill of 2019 and the Electoral Process (Amendment) Bill of 2019 which were deferred by the Government at the insistence of the UPND will never see another day in Parliament. The nation and political players must prepare to play to the same old public order and electoral rules which they have complained about. Even when there is clear violence in an election such as the one we noticed in Sesheke, Kaoma, Mtendere, the courts will never have an opportunity to nullify an election as the current electoral law makes it almost impossible to nullify an election.” said Mr. Ntewewe.
He also shared the view that failure of Bill 10 will deprive those that will be aggrieved to have their petition heard within a reasonable time of 30 days.
Mr. Mwanza added that the move has put the delimitation process in jeopardy as no delimitation of constituencies can happen without amending the numerical numbers entrenched in the Constitution.
“The failure of Bill 10 means that the chiefs who have been looking forward to State protection and recognition have lost out. This means Government continues to have nothing to do with the recognition of new chiefs or succession wrangles in chiefdoms. Equally, the evangelicals and the Christians have also lost out by not having the Christian Nation entrenched in the Constitution,” he reaffirmed.