GEARS Initiative Zambia has advised President Edgar Lungu to avoid a second misinterpretation of the Constitution by contesting the presidency for a third term.
In May 2016, President Lungu, a lawyer, misread the constitutional provision on ministers remaining in office following the dissolution of Parliament.
Once he had misread the Constitution, the President went on to mislead a fawning group of 64 people – ministers and deputies.
The misled team is now scouting for money to refund the State for the salaries and allowances each one of them accrued for the time they illegally held ministerial office.
In a statement on Thursday, Governance, Elections, Advocacy, Research Services (GEARS) Initiative Zambia executive director McDonald Chipenzi cautioned President Lungu against falling prey to those who are pushing for his third term bid.
He stated that it was agonising that learned citizens who were supposed to be merchants of truth have turned themselves into merchants of ignorance and misinformation.
“Their commerce in lies and ignorance in national affairs [that] they have embarked on is dangerous to democracy, which must be anchored on enlightened citizenry,” Chipenzi stated. “It is disappointing to hear that some people [are] still arguing that the Constitutional Court declared President Edgar Lungu as eligible to re-contest the 2021 general election as President.”
He stated that the merchants of ignorance continue to comfort themselves in the otiose word the Constitutional Court used when dealing the question on President Lungu’s eligibility bid.
“Their trade in twisting straightforward legal issues will not change Article 106 (3), regarding barring any person who has twice held office as President to re-contest the presidency,” Chipenzi said. “It is therefore our appeal to these commercial misleaders to learn from the case of former and serving ministers who spent their time and energies working illegally for three months, a period they have been requested by the Constitutional Court to pay back whatever they accumulated from the State.”
He asserted that President Lungu could not contest next year’s elections as President but: “maybe as running mate, as the Constitution is mute on this one.”
“We appeal to President Lungu to continue searching his moral conscience so that he is not swayed by these merchants of ignorance to breach the Constitution again, as he did over the ministers’ stay in office,” Chipenzi stated. “With the impeachment motion still being awaited and only delayed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Patrick Matibini to restore it on the order paper for possible debate, for him to engage in another illegality might be a recipe for the lifting of his immunity after he leaves office next year.”
He further stated that he desired for President Lungu’s peaceful and undisturbed exit from State House.
“But his conduct from now up to the time he hands over to the President-elect will inform us what type of life after State House he will live,” stated Chipenzi.