PF secretary general Davies Mwila says as far as the party is concerned, President Edgar Lungu will be on the ballot paper next year.
Meanwhile, Mwila has announced that the ruling party will hold an elective general conference from July 10 to July 12 this year, at Mulungushi Rock of Authority in Kabwe.
He also disclosed the removal of Kitwe mayor Christopher Kang’ombe as Copperbelt Province PF vice-chairman.
Reminded that other stakeholders felt President Lungu was ineligible to contest next year’s general elections, Mwila insisted that President Lungu was eligible.
He said the Constitutional Court made a ruling on the matter, unless one was unaware.
“There was a debate which was going on and these others were saying President Lungu is eligible [while] others were saying he is not eligible. The matter was in court and the Constitutional Court ruled that President Lungu is eligible, unless lawyer Sangwa is a dull lawyer who can’t think, who can’t read the judgment. Even me as a layman, I’m able to understand,” Mwila told journalists at the PF secretariat in Lusaka yesterday.
“The issue which was there is the term of office and the Constitution; if you’ve not served for more than three years, it’s not a term. The Constitutional Court ruled that President Lungu served for less than three years. So, it was not a term. So, he is eligible to stand.”
He added that constitutional lawyer John Sangwa, who argues that President Lungu was ineligible, should not be political.
“We’ll take him as a political opponent. These are politics! As far as we are concerned, President Edgar Lungu is eligible to stand and lawyer Sangwa has the right to take the matter to court. Why is it that he has failed to go to court?” Mwila asked.
“A ruling was made by the Constitutional Court and he (Sangwa) can’t start this matter which he knows that there is a judgment in place. So, if he wants he can go to court again. As far as we are concerned, President Lungu [in] 2021 will be on the ballot paper.”
Sangwa during a public forum last Friday said President Lungu was not eligible to stand in 2021 because he has already been elected twice to the office of President as the law stipulates.
“I hope the President was not quoted correctly. When a president says ‘I will rule up to 2026’, no democrat will ever make a statement like that. No president who respects the constitution, who respects democracy will ever make a statement like that because your stay in power is not your decision, it is a decision of your people and by saying that, you are basically saying that [Electoral Commission of Zambia chief electoral officer Patrick] Mr Nshindano is wasting his time, it’s like the whole system is already rigged unless you are sure that you control these institutions. Statements like that undermine whatever Mr Nshindano is doing,” said Sangwa. “No president who believes in democracy, rule of law and who respects the value of the vote would ever make such a statement, such a president is actually a very dangerous president to democracy…. The bottom line is President Lungu does not qualify to stand for election in 2021. The issue is as simple as that. The Constitution does not talk about the number of years you serve, it talks about the number of times you get elected. The Constitution expects you to only contest and be elected twice, once you have been elected, twice that’s it, you are done and that is the position of the law. What has been misunderstood is in relation to a person who has been a vice-president. One can only be elected to the office of president twice, it doesn’t matter the number of years you serve, you can be sworn in as President twice. You can’t go for a third term, there is no provision for a third term in our Constitution. What will be of interest is what Mr Nshindano and ECZ will do when Mr Lungu files in his nomination papers, we will see what they will do because they have the right to refuse the nomination papers.”
Meanwhile, updating journalists on the resolutions made by the PF central committee meeting chaired by President Lungu at State House on Saturday, Mwila said many issues were deliberated on.
He noted that there was a recommendation from the Copperbelt Province executive committee that Kang’ombe be removed from the position of vice-chairman because of misconduct.
“This matter when it came up, the president of the party, Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, had to declare interest and mama Inonge took over and we deliberated on this matter. The central committee resolved or upheld the decision or recommendation from the Copperbelt Province,” Mwila explained.
“So, from Saturday (February 29, 2020), mayor Kang’ombe will no longer be the provincial vice-chairman. He will remain an ordinary member and mayor of Kitwe.”
On the replacement for Kang’ombe, Mwila said: “the provincial executive committee will sit [and] they will do it, in consultation with the secretariat – as soon as possible.”
Asked if the removal of Kang’ombe was all because of him ‘refusing’ to greet first lady Esther Lungu in Kitwe, Mwila responded: “that’s not the charge. The charge was gross misconduct.”
“What happened was that it was in the hall and mayor Kang’ombe was not given a front seat. It was the [provincial chairlady], the first lady and the [Copperbelt] permanent secretary. So, he started protesting in public which brought embarrassment. From there he went and sat at the back seat and when the Bishop started recognising all the leaders in Church, mayor Kang’ombe was called and he went on the phone. He could not stand up so that people are able to see him,” he explained.
“When a function finishes, you are supposed to line up and say bye to the guest of honour. [But] he walked out and instead following the first lady to the presidential guesthouse, he went home. So, we thought that was gross misconduct and he needs to be disciplined.”
Mwila further pointed out that during the meeting, President Lungu emphasised that he had a prerogative to appoint people and once they were appointed, “there comes a time when their contract comes to an end.”
“When a contract is not renewed, it means that the appointing authority want other people to also work in those positions. It is important that all members of the party whose contracts have not been renewed…it does not mean that they have been rejected. They have to accept that other people also can perform those duties,” Mwila noted.
He said the central committee meeting also agreed that the PF general conference would be held from 10 to 12 July in Kabwe, at Mulungushi Rock of Authority.
“This is an elective conference – that is where we are going to elect our presidential candidate and other positions. So, we expect all the delegates to be in Kabwe on Friday and Saturday we’ll start our conference and finish on Sunday,” Mwila said.
Meanwhile, Mwila explained that other issue that was deliberated on was the issue of the Copperbelt Energy Corporation and the Bulk Supply Agreement (BSA) that was expiring this month and: “government is not renewing the contract.”
“But as a party, we have taken keen interest in that the negotiations have taken long. We’ve appointed a taskforce headed by Honourable [Margaret] Mwanakatwe, chairperson in charge of commerce, Honourable Yamfwa Mukanga chairman-elections and chairman-legal Honourable [Brian] Mundubile,” explained Mwila.
“Basically, their role is to ensure that the parties who are involved in the negotiations conclude these negotiations as quickly as possible. Our interest as the party is the 400 workers…. We don’t want the employees to lose their jobs.”