from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – A TENSE two months lies ahead for Zambia as supporters of the former president, Edgar Lungu, await a verdict on his eligibility to contest the presidential elections in 2026.
This after the Constitutional Court on Monday deferred the matter to December 10, when a ruling is to be announced.
The court grounds in the capital Lusaka where the court has been convening has been a battleground and on Wednesday police and supporters of the ex-president clashed.
Lungu’s Patriotic Front (PF) alleges a plot by the state to deny the 67-year-old to contest the plebiscite.
There was a heavy presence of highly-armed police officers at the PF Secretariat, also in the capital.
Earlier, PF had reported police had denied Lungu’s lawyers access to the court premises, allegations that have been denied.
“We have not blocked any lawyers from accessing court premises,” a Zambia Police Service spokesperson.
Critics of President Hakainde Hichilema (62) accuse him of interfering with the judiciary in a ploy to have his main opponent disqualified.
Hichilema, who had lost five previous presidential elections, defeated Lungu in 2021.
The case before the Constitutional Court is twofold in that the judges are also examining Lungu’s eligibility in 2021.
It is the same court that cleared him to participate, ruling he was eligible as in his first term, he was finishing the term of Michael Sate, who died in office, in 2014.
Lungu does not consider this therefore as his term as it was not a full one.
He considers his first term as one beginning in 2016 when he won elections, until 2021.
Lungu’s lawyers also point out that there is no provision in the constitution that a losing candidate cannot contest future elections.
Last week, Lungu failed in his request that some judges recuse themselves from the case, alleging bias.
Recently, Hichilema suspended three Constitutional Court judges over alleged misconduct, prompting accusations the president was interfering with the judiciary.
The trio reportedly dismissed his case challenging the election of Lungu in 2016.
PF blames the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) for the prevailing economic challenges.
The Southern African country of 41 million people is also experiencing the worst drought in over two decades, resulting in food shortages, water scarcity and inefficient power supplies in a nation that relies heavily on hydro-electricity.
A national emergency has been declared.
– CAJ News