THE Attorney General has submitted in the Constitutional Court that the eligibility of President Edgar Lungu to stand as President in the August 12 General Elections was already determined and settled.
And the Constitutional Court will deliver judgment in the matter on Friday.
Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), Chapter One Foundation and UNZA lecturer Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa are challenging President Lungu’s eligibility to contest the forthcoming elections.
They are arguing that the Head of State has twice held office. The petitioners want the court to nullify President Lungu’s nomination papers on account that he was not eligible to stand as President.
But Attorney General Likando Kalaluka, during hearing of the main matter and preliminary issues raised, he urged the court to dismiss the petition because it is an abuse of the court process.
He said the issues raised in the petition before court were already settled by the same court in the Danny Pule and Others petition and also the Bampi Kapalasa and Joseph Busenga petitions.
Kalaluka argued that the petitioners needed to show cause as to why the court should vacate its earlier decisions in the other two petitions in which it was declared that President Lungu had not twice held office.
“The petitioners have failed to show why this court should vacate its decision and should therefore, be prepared to suffer the consequences,” he said.
Solicitor General Abraham Mwansa urged the court to throw out the petition and condemn the petitioners in costs.
And President Lungu’s lawyer Bonaventure Mutale submitted that the Danny Pule and others vs the Attorney General selected judgement of 2018, which was delivered by the Constitutional Court, would stand a test of time as the issues raised in the case in casu were already determined.
He urged the court to dismiss the petition because the court cannot vacate its decisions in the previous cases. President Lungu’s other lawyer Eric Silwamba argued that the court authoritatively and conclusively interpreted what amounts to a term.
He submitted that the Head of State has not twice held office as President and should be allowed to stand.
Meanwhile, John Sangwa, who is representing the petitioners, urged the court not to entertain the preliminary issues raised because they lack merit.
He argued that nowhere in the two petitions did the Constitutional Court declare that President Lungu was eligible to stand because the petitions were about the interpretation of the law.
Sangwa further argued that the issue of res judicata raised by the respondents does not hold water. On the argument that the petition did not disclose a cause of action and that the petitioners were not competent to take out the action, Sangwa said a person can go to court even with mere allegations.
The court has reserved judgment to Friday, June 11.