THE Law Association of Zambia has been joined to the proceedings in a case in which four leaders of the opposition are seeking the Constitutional Court’s interpretation on whether President Edgar Lungu is eligible to contest the 2021 presidential elections.
Constitutional Court Judge Margarate Munalula yesterday adjourned the hearing of the petition to February 27, 2017 to allow more interested parties to file formal applications if they were interested to join the proceedings.
LAZ had stated that it was an interested party and, as such, it should be allowed to join to the petition where the president of the Christian Democratic Party Dan Pule, president of the Zambia Republican Party, Wright Musoma, Peter Chanda of the News Congress Party and Citizen Democratic Party leader Robert Mwanza want the Constitutional Court to interpret the law on whether Mr Lungu is eligible to stand for the 2021 presidential elections.
According to the affidavit filed by LAZ lawyer John Sangwa, of Simeza, Sangwa and Associates, LAZ submitted that under Section 4 of the Act, one of the statutory mandates of LAZ was to seek the advancement of the rule of law and the rights and liberties of an individual.
Mr Sangwa said it was for this reason that LAZ was interested to be joined to the proceedings and that the court would benefit from its input during the proceedings.
He stated in his submission that LAZ was seeking to know whether Mr Lungu’s election of January 20, 2015, which expired on August 11, 2016 did not constitute a term of office pursuant to Article 106 (b) of the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Act number 2 of 2016.
Mr Sangwa said the court should also determine if Mr Lungu was eligible to stand as a candidate in the presidential election of 2021 or other future elections.
Heritage Party President Godfrey Miyanda and United Party for National Development (UPND) have so far applied to be joined to the proceedings.
Mr Miyanda has also applied to be joined to the proceedings telling the court that he will be objecting to the matter that Mr Lungu is eligible to contest the 2021 presidential election.
He argued in his affidavit in support of an application for joinder that he had sufficient interest in the petition and was asking to be joined in opposition to the originating summons as an interested party.
Mr Miyanda also submitted that the four opposition leaders had not indicated to the court that President Lungu had delegated them to file their application on his behalf as a prospective nominee in 2021.
UPND secretary general Steven Katuka has asked the court to join him to the proceedings, arguing that Mr Lungu was not eligible to contest the 2021 presidential election.
Mr Katuka has stated that UPND is an interested party and should be joined to the proceedings.
The four Opposition political party leaders petitioned the Constitutional Court seeking a declaration that President Edgar Lungu is eligible to contest the 2021 Presidential election.
The petitioners stated that there had risen a political debate of the tenure of office of President Edgar Lungu and his eligibility to stand as presidential candidate in the 2021 General Election.
They affirmed that President Lungu’s election of January 20th, 2015 as President when he ruled for one year and six months did not constitute a full term of office as per article 106 section 6 sub section B of the amended constitution of Zambia Act number of 2016.
The petitioners said that that President Lungu’s election of August 11th, 2016 for a term of five years was his first full term as President of Zambia.
They also wanted the Court to declare that President Lungu is eligible to stand in the 2021 general election as Presidential candidate, where once elected it will be his second and final term of office.
The petitioners want the court to declare that President LUNGU’s first term of office commenced on September 13th, 2016 when he was sworn in as President for a term of five years.
Constitutional Court – this bench was supposed to be occupied by the Chief Justice and some other Judges from the Supreme Court.
Please stop this nonsense and concentrate on deliverying to the people who elected you Lungu. C’mon dude, you’re being unreal.
This is serious, even President Miyanda now has joined?
Lol.. LAZ with UPND have started wasting there time again. I would advise Mrs Lind (LAZ) Hichilema to advise her hubby Mr Hichilema to start campaigning for 2021 because like this they will never win.. infarct they will realize that Lungu is Eligible to contest and they will blame the Judicially on an obvious matter which even a grade 5 can know the outcome.. Please Linda and ur Hubby start campaigning by concentrating on issues that matter than wasting ur time.
No [email protected] let this matter be heard and concluded so that we start hearing development news that will get us out of poverty
Flight ECL 2016. I agree with you. The earlier this issue is settled the better. We do not want to have an argument of this nature in 2020, we need development, period. Time wasters, like Miyanda, should have their day in court so that they can concentrate on something else as well. This objections, i agree issues should come to end once and for all. MPs please change this constitution we rest.
KikikIkIk there you go again! LAZ (Linda Association Of Zambia)
What a shame to the Law fraternity and society at large. LAZ should not take sides, Period!
Laz must guide offer professional advice only, it must not be part of the court cases, (not be joined in a case.)
The more they lose such cases there credibility also goes down.
watch this space!
Cowards.
Watch “Mungeni Judges” at play again!
…UPND shouldn’t have involved themselves in this….
How can UPND join when UPND constitution does not allow HH? I think Nawakwi , Tilyenji, miyanda, HH and Lungu constitution or no constitution should leave chance for others. They are good pipo but………
This will be an interesting case. Law interpretation will play a big part. Already, we have read so many different interpretations of the Constitution provisions on this issue.
UPND IS TYING ITSELF OR THEMSELVES INTO SMALL KNOTS. FIRST THEY DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ECL AS PRESIDENT. THIS LEGALLY IMPLIES THAT IN THEIR EYES, ECL AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFIES TO BE PRESIDENT IN 2021. YES BECAUSE FOR THEM, HE IS ACTUALLY NOT SERVING ANY TERM CURRENTLY….KIKIKI
ZIALE DROPOUT!
Contradiction is HH ‘s middle name. Indeed how can you deny that a man is not your father but you demand inheritance of his estate?
All these guys have nothing to do in life ,or maybe they are too bored to stay home and will find pleasure in sitting in the courts
Which court will rule against lungu s demands ,
Maybe in small matter s not issues Which make him happy .
Miyanda yes it’s your right but surely do something else like asking the government to pay pensioners on time ,upnd come on guys push this government to open mulungushi textiles so it can be making uniforms for the police service, army, prisoners,nurses, doctors, bamalukula,council workers , school uniforms etc than waste your time on trivial matters which you even know the results .
Push for people jailed on minor cases to be doing community services ,
Are you a one track-minded simpleton who does not apprecaite the full length and complexity of governance? Pensioners pay and Mulungushi textiles are but small elements of the larger maze, Mr. Zama!
Comment:Very interesting indeed. ECL balemutina sana, bamukunga. Even those who refuse to recognise him have now accepted that he is in his second term. Once beaten twice shy.
Lungu will never give up power. Even after 2021 he will call for his kaponyas to dance and declare him sole candidate.
This man is a thug. That is why he was convicted of fraud…..
For Miyanda, it’s time for him to leave the stage. All his contemporaries have stopped.
Most pf kadalishilurists don’t like Miyanda after he asked alungu not to sign the Constitution with his eyes closed.
@Divide a Rule maybe you’re too young to know why people like me hate Miyanda : This man together with Chiluba concorted a consititution that effectively disenfranchised Dr Kaunda from standing for office in Zambia. And thinking that a politician will change your life for better is one of wasting time. During campaigns the Nigerian president Buhari promised that he and his cabinet would never seek medical treatment outside Nigeria, where is now …he’s been in London for one month now and still there.
Justice is an allegorical personification of the moral force in the judicial system.
Her attributes are a blindfold, a balance, and a sword.
Lawyers this year are going to get very rich.
Viva president Nawakwi.
Let the concourt help to interpret upnd and fdd constitutions.nawakwi and hh do they qualify
What exactly do UPNDonkeys expect to get out of this? Probably a declaration that ECL is not serving a second term and therefore eligible to stand in 2016? For donkeys anything is possible, they don’t think like the rest of us you know.
PF kadalishilu is due to brain cells degeneration.
Hazaluza Hagain! He is destined to lose and he is unelectable.
The law is supreme we just want our right to be heard. Is that too much to ask
NEZ: That is too noble to ask and its everybody’s right to be heard. So nothing is too much let the law help each one of us.
Hh again in decaying courts is he normal
what is the fear all about? is it winning again or loosing gain? obviously for me, something is fishy about all this. Surely its not about illigibilty but about the consequences of him standing. can someone help me! It reminds me of KK’s illigibility to contest the 1996 elections. The same people that denied KK the chance to stand are busy calling him the father of the nation.
BTW I will be travelling to the United Kingdom tomorrow so I might not blog frequently. I thank you for understanding
Is HH normal?how can upnd join in this case?amazing.this simply shows how scared of ECL these losers are!!look,even if ECL do not stand in 2021 whoever will be adopted by PF will win because majority voters in 6.5 provinces will still vote for PF!!i recall how upnd celebrated Mr Sata’s death in 2014 saying nobody in PF could defeat HH in 2015,but what happened?a nobody ECL from Chawama defeated Kainde pants down after campaigning for less than 14days.Kainde campaigned for 3 months,Guy Scott made everything possible for Kainde but still us voters rejected upnd.so even in 2021 with or without ECL,PF will surely win!!
And it’ll be more painful for one HH if another person other than Lungu “steals ” the election again.
They have a joined themselves to an action in which they do not recognize the person they are seeking a declaration to be made on the presidency?
That’s the fallacy of mob psychology. Aren’t LAZ capable of interpreting this “law ” for us?
Yes kill Lungu’s 2021 Eligibility Nonsense and then focus on the 2016 Election Petition. L
Have you not noticed how not so seriously Zambia as a nation and Continental power is taken on the global stage? Given our unequalled sacrifices to forment the requisite pillars for the liberation of much of sub -saharan Africa our status from an international standpoint should be on par with the Ghanas, Nigerias , etc if not higher. But when you have baby boomers like S.A., Namibia, Angola profiled higher, thats a problem. It does not help that we demonstrate discord and chaos while publicly humiliating our leadership with unparalled insults and desrespect on a daily basis. President Kaunda suffered through this ignonimity. Reflect and choose anothr path to criticize govt. Dont shoot own foot.
I am also going to join them
ALa bane, the four took the matter before the con -court to seek its interpretation on the constitution on the matter.nomba aba ba Upnd ,miyanda naba Laz should hav relaxed until the stand is given and put up a challenge or not.ni kafwafwa yeka yeka.
Judge Margaret Munalula is the closet girlfriend of Professor Muna Ndulo, Professor of Law at Cornell University and an ardent critic and nemesis of the PF. If she has any morality, she should recuse herself from this case.
And gag Annie Mulenga is…
I believe Lungu had been thrown sand in his eyes at an early go by selfish advisers. Instead of concentrating on developmental and poverty reduction issues he begins to campaign. Poverty and unemployment are silent war weapons. President Lungu’s catalyst for voting him again are not emphasis of letting everyone know that he’s president. Let your priorities bring out tangible fruits for people to feed on. If you really and convincingly won 2016 elections then you must serve with confidence and no shutting up of media.Shutting up the media and judges is heading you to become a dictator. Let small,small issues go by,concentrate on first things first. Can our judges learn something from the three judges who halted Trumps travel ban? Do they have such stamina?
Those judges just didn’t dream up their verdict. They based everything on the American Consititution and that’s why instead of pursuing the case in court Mr Trump has decided to reconstruct the ban order so that it doesn’t contradict the consititution. Please study things carefully before talking. So you want our judges to do things because their American counterparts have done it even if the scenarios are different?
If Mulyokela (no disrespect) takes Lungu to court for some old debt, HH would join himself to that case, I am sure.
Ba ndanje kusabayila like a rabied sick dog. Calm down kikiki you say a lot but say nothing. You are a mere dull cadre. You make hundred comments on one article and yet no one seems to respond to you. Can’t you get the hint
Nincompoop Educated Zambians (nez) is there a magnet that draws you to me in spite of numerous warnings that I don’t like you? Go find someone else to warm your bUtocks
@Njimbu. You got it all right. PF will still win in 2021 despite who the leader is.
@Ndaje kahakis kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk definitely he would join him. Funny how the guys want to use the court to get Lungu out of the way not knowing they cant get PF out of the way.
Yayayaya! His Excellency ECL ni Mbama. Come-on guys and I wonder what will be the arguments of UPND because all along they have been claiming that they won in 2015 and 2016. Will this in itself not a testimony that Yes! Someone is a President and has been a President for two consecutive terms. Thanks to UPND and this shows maturity.
”Frightened little men!!”They know that with ECL on the ballot paper,they stand no chance again hence their fear from the unknown.A person who campaigned for 14 days was able to get it after their marathon campaign.If constitution court tosses out their petition,are they going to accept the verdict?These are people who have rubbished any verdict that is against their wishes.Why are they taking the case before courts of law that they have lost confidence in?They are a bunch of losers.
Imwe ba PF Bakaponya mwibafye ama votes not that Lungu balamutina when he uses ubukakashi to steal votes. Read the parables written by Dr Kambwili that time is more powerful than a man. When an bird is alive it eats ants and when it dies ants eat the bird. One tree can produce millions of match sticks but later with time one match stick can burn millions of trees. He who has ears let him hear.
Correction when a bird is alive it eats ants and when it dies ants eat it.
Enough already. Lungu be a decent person for once and stand aside for the good of the PF, we need to get back to our true leadership and follow the path of King Cobra to make sure Zambia is in good hands.
Unless Zambia is a banana republic, the rule of law must prevail. If you blame those seeking court interpretation of the constitution, then you have gone bananas. Thank you
UPND should not have joined this circus. The reason being that legally ECL is not President as the concourt never determined the out come of the petition. When a presidential petition is taken to court, the declaration by the Presidential returning officer (Essau) that so and so won does not stand till the courts declare so. So in the case of ECL that was not done and so he continues to be an illegal President and hence the case has no merit. In addition the concourt itself is a circus.
What? Heritage party president Miyanda? Since when did he resurrect to come lead a party that he publicly ditched? A party is not something you use as and when you feel it favours you. What about the people that have supported the party, maybe not you as a person, but the party? I have asked this ex-general to tell the nation the status of the Heritage party, but he has always dodged the issue. Well now, I want you, Miyanda to refute the statement that you have joined the case as President of Heritage. If not not, then please you still owe US an explanation as to what has happened to our party.
This is good for democracy….think about it why do all African leader rule longer than 2 terms….it starts like this, then change the constitution so they rule for good….people suggesting its a waste of time have short memory of our history and Africa at large secondly don’t care about the future of their kids…worse part don’t even think about their kids future
The way HH’s upnd jump from one court to another simply confirms that HH has concluded that he cannot win any election via the ballot hence hoping for some judges to give him the presidency-though this will never happen.since 11/08/2016,i cant count how many legal battles HH has initiated against ECL but all in vein!!!HH’S DESPARATION FOR STATE HOUSE MAKE HIM LOOK VERY F00LISH IN THE EYES OF MAJORITY ZAMBIANS IN 6.5 PROVINCES!!!in Northern Zambia whenever HH’s news comes up,people simply say “UYU WINE KAINDE NAO ALAIBEPA.BUSHE UWINGA MU VOTELA NOKUWINA NINAANI?KIKIKIKIKIKIKI!!am very sure that with or without ECL,PF will win 2021!!!
KikikIkIk there you go again!
what a shame tho the Law fraternity and society at large.
KikikIkIk
Lawyers from both sides all belong to LAZ. This is one of the simple reasons LAZ should be seen to be neutral but individual members vested interests seem to make LAZ pseudo blind. Now i understand why people are pushing for the formation of another/other institution(s) to represent Lawyers