Politicising the clear mandate of the ECZ is not helpful to the Electoral process
The setting of the date by the Electoral commission of Zambia (ECZ) to hold the halted KWACHA and KABUSHI parliamentary by-elections is timely to avoid a constitutional crisis in the country through unnecessary court cases just to ensure some individuals are in the ballot despite rejection of their nominations.
A mere court case/proceeding devoid of a stay/an injunction is not binding on the activities of an institution like ECZ.
The mere fact that there are multiple court cases going on in various courts against and by the ECZ and the mere lodgement of a case into court does not stop the ECZ from doing its normal functions unless the aim is to interfere with its mandate and lure it to commit the breach of the Constitution..
ECZ has a constitutional and legal mandate to discharge, manage and conduct elections in Zambia within 90 days not the court while the courts have the constitutional and legal mandate to hear and determine petiions against the ECZ regarding the conduct of nominations and elections.
A by-election is a mandate that it be held WITHIN 90 days and this 90 days cannot be stopped by a court from ticking, no unless and only through an amendment to the Constitution to vary the 90 days as put in the Constitution under computation of days.
The Constitution has put safetnets for the aggrieved persons to petition the ECZ after elections and not to stop the ECZ from carrying out its mandate.
I doubt any organ of the state has power to lure another state organ to breach the constitution to please individuals because any such act by any institution organ can be a recipe for organised bad precedent and chaos in the country.
Further, if the court is to take the line as argued some interested parties in this case, then those who rescinded their decisions while their case was in court are also in contempt of Court.
Why are those who want to create a constitutional crisis only concerned with the individuals whose nominations were duly rejected as per constitution and not the violation of supreme law of the land they are called upon to defend, resist from being violated, suspended, or overthrown by anyone or institution?
Let us protect the ECZ a and respect the law of the land and allow ECZ carry its mandate without politicising its mandate for one to be politically correct.
I SUBMIT
McDonald Chipenzi