Dr Fred M’membe says, “When we say that President Edgar Lungu is not eligible to contest the 2021 presidential elections it is not out of hatred or fear of losing to him. Even if Mr Lungu was a very weak candidate who could be easily defeated our position does not change – the principle and requirements of the rule of law do not change. We may have chameleon-like politicians but our country’s Constitution does not change in that psychedelic way. We are saying this simply out of principle, out of respect for the rule of law. And put simply: Mr Lungu has been elected to the office of President of the Republic of Zambia twice. And he has been sworn in as President twice – serving two terms as president.
The issue of his first term being less than three years does not arise or apply here. It arises when or applies to a person who assumes the office of President as Vice-President, without being elected, when the President dies, resigns or is removed from office for any reason. Mr Lungu did not assume office as Vice-President and without elections in 2015. He contested presidential elections twice and won.”
It’s very clear that Edgar and his minions are trying to hang on to a very thin thread to have a third term of office. The definition of a term he is trying to hang on to doesn’t apply to him. Edgar did not assume power in his first term of office under the current Constitution, it was under the previous one. In the previous constitution there’s no running mate and therefore whenever the office of the president fell vacant there had to be presidential elections within 90 days. Under the current Constitution the Vice-President takes over without elections. And the not less than three years definition of a term of office was meant for this.
And it is this realisation that prompted them to introduce Bill 10. The main purpose of Bill 10 was to cure this and give Edgar a chance to go for a third term of office. We shouldn’t be deceived by the other apparently nice things they put in Bill 10 – it was a poisoned chalice.
This is why they tried even the impossible to get Bill 10 through.
Of course, they haven’t given up. Edgar doesn’t give up on what he wants, whatever the obstacles, legal or otherwise. Now he will rely on his control of the Constitutional Court to give him a third term bid. But even the Constitutional Court will be taking a very high risk to give him a third term of office. They have to answer for that in the future.