A THIRD term is a third term, period, charges Charles Milupi.
He asks PF and President Edgar Lungu introspect and see if there has been a positive influence on the long match to development in this country. “Have you really moved the country forward? They have not! Let them be satisfied with what they have done, the wealth they have accumulated,” he said. “Let them now withdraw and go and enjoy whatever wealth which they have, which we know is very significant.”
Milupi is the president of the opposition Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD).
He is a former Luena member of parliament.
Milupi cautions that the likelihood of the PF not having a presidential candidate next year is very high.
Edgar Lungu won the Republican presidency in January 2015 and retained it in August 2016.
Article 106 (3) of the Constitution of Zambia states that: “a person who has twice held office as President is not eligible for election as President.”
Nonetheless, the PF insists that Lungu would be its presidential candidate in August 2021 because ‘he has only served one term of office.’
Still on the strength of Article 106 (3), numerous stakeholders continue to argue that President Lungu would be abrogating the Constitution if he goes ahead with his third term presidential scheme.
In an interview, Milupi said President Lungu did not ascend to his office, from being a Vice-President as a result of being a running mate to anybody.
“When you focus on securing what is essentially a third third…A third term is a third term, period! We should not mix the Constitution under which he (President Lungu) became President,” Milupi said. “When he became President in 2015, there was no running mate [clause]. He was voted in and sworn-in in 2015 and then he got sworn-in in 2016.”
He told those around President Lungu that by being insistent on securing a third term for their benefactor, “they run the risk of creating a constitutional crisis.”
“When he attempts to file in his presidential nomination papers next year, the Electoral Commission [of Zambia] chairman may accept. But many enlightened citizens, including learned counsels and political parties’ officials, will file [a petition] under the current Constitution,” he noted. “At that stage, the judiciary will not be so beholden to this particular [presidential] candidate to rule in his favour. In the very likely event that they don’t rule in his favour, there will be no re-filing. You understand?”
Milupi added: “if you file in nomination papers and you are knocked out, disqualified, it means the likelihood of the PF not having a presidential candidate is very high.”
“But knowing them (PF), they resort to violence and so on, and that will create a crisis in the country. But legally that is the way it is – [he doesn’t qualify]. Nobody is afraid of President Lungu!” Milupi explained.
He further noted that the other aspect was that when one seeks another term – “whether it’s second or not – you need to look back at what you have achieved.”
“Have you really moved the country forward? You see, when [Levy] Mwanawasa stood in 2001, there were question marks. But by the time he stood in 2006, looking back on what he had achieved from 2001 to 2006, it was so easy for him to win a second term,” he noted. “People rose and said ‘yes.’ People were very fond of him and in 2006, he won by an overwhelming majority. That was on account of people’s assessment of how he had run his first term.”
Milupi is requesting the PF and its leader, Lungu, to “introspect.”
“Let PF introspect. Let the President introspect and see if there has been a positive influence on the long match to development in this country. They have not! Let them be satisfied with what they have done, the wealth they have accumulated,” said Milupi. “Let them now withdraw and go and enjoy whatever wealth which they have, which we know is very significant. Do not condemn this country to another five years of uncertainty, of increasing poverty, debt, political violence. Let other people who have vision come and correct the many evils that have occurred in this country.”