HH remains on ballot as ConCourt throws out petition

The Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition challenging President Hakainde Hichilema’s nomination for the August  general election, ruling that the petitioner failed to provide sufficient evidence that he did not meet the constitutional requirements for the office. This decision ensures that HH remains on the ballot.

The full bench delivered the judgment after hearing arguments from Charles Longwe, the UPND founding member who brought the case, and the four respondents named in the matter: UPND Secretary General Batuke Imenda, President Hichilema, the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Registrar of Societies.

Delivering the ruling on behalf of the panel, Constitutional Court Judge Martin Musaluke said a presidential nomination can only be challenged under Article 52(4) of the Constitution where a candidate fails to satisfy the qualifications set out in Article 100. He said Longwe had not met that threshold.

Judge Musaluke said allegations relating to whether the UPND Constitution was breached during the party’s convention could not form the basis for invalidating President Hichilema’s nomination. He ruled that internal matters within the UPND have no bearing on Article 100, which sets out the qualifications for presidential candidates. The petition was dismissed in its entirety, with each party ordered to bear its own costs.

The case traces back to President Hichilema’s nomination filing on May 22. Longwe filed a 24-page petition at the expiry of the seven-day window allowed for challenging presidential nominations, arguing that UPND office bearers whose tenure had allegedly lapsed had no authority to conduct the nomination, and that the adoption certificate supporting the President’s candidature was invalid.

Rather than press the eligibility question to its constitutional conclusion, Longwe shifted his case during proceedings toward the minutes that resolved to hold the UPND’s General Assembly, and toward whether the party’s internal elections were free and fair. The court found neither line of argument relevant to an Article 100 challenge.

President Hichilema’s legal team comprised State Counsel Mulambo Haimbe, Counsel Michael Moono and Counsel Keith Mweemba. State Counsel Muchende represented the ECZ and the Registrar of Societies.

In their submissions ahead of judgment, Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha had argued that the petition was incompetent for failing to challenge President Hichilema’s qualifications under Article 100, read together with Article 106(3), and disclosed no valid basis under Article 52(4) to question the nomination. Kabesha submitted that Article 60(1) permits political parties to sponsor any candidate for the presidency, whether a party member or not, meaning internal UPND disputes over its convention could not invalidate the President’s candidature. The ECZ and the Registrar of Societies advanced similar arguments in their responses.

Secretary General Imenda had told the court that the issues Longwe raised concerned the interpretation of the UPND Constitution rather than the Republican Constitution, and ought to have been resolved through the party’s internal mechanisms.

Speaking to journalists after the ruling, Haimbe, a former Foreign Affairs and International Relations Minister, said the Court had provided clear guidance on the constitutional requirements for presidential nominations. Moono said the judgment had clarified the grounds upon which presidential nominations may be challenged. Mweemba said the ruling had established that internal political party disputes cannot be used to challenge a presidential nomination.

Imenda reiterated outside court that the issues raised concerning the mandate of the party’s current leadership related to the UPND Constitution and not the Republican Constitution.

Longwe’s lawyer, Benjamin Mwelwa, welcomed the judgment, saying the Court had clarified that presidential nominations can only be challenged where constitutional requirements have not been met.

With the petition dismissed, President Hichilema’s candidature stands unchallenged ahead of the August 13 poll, in which he faces Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu.