A Lacunaed Constitution creating uncertainty in the holding of Presidential Elections as enshrined September, 13th 2024LUSAKA – Indeed, the President is very right and spot-on when he asserts that the current Constitution of Zambia can lead to the country’s General Election, especially Presidential election, not being held in August of that year of election as stated in Article 56 which provides::56. (1) A general election shall be held, every five years after the last general election, on the second Thursday of August.(2) The day on which a general election is held shall be a publicholiday.This prescription is descripted by the provision of Art 52(6) which demands cancellation of an election when a duly nominated candidate at ward, district, constituency and/or Presidential level resigns, dies or is disqualified by the Court.This is what Art 52(6) states;Where a candidate dies, resigns or becomes disqualified in accordance with Article 70, 100 or 153 or a court disqualifies a candidate for corruption or malpractice, after the close of nominations and before the election date, the Electoral Commission shall cancel the election and require the filing of fresh nominations by eligible candidates and elections shall be held within thirty days of the filing of the fresh nominations.The direct import of this provisions in Art 52(6) is that if any one candidate resigns, dies or is disqualified a week before the August General Election, the ECZ will have to cancel that election at ward, district, constituency and or Presidential, and call for fresh nominations (which nomination timeframe is not even prescribed in the law-assuming it takes 30 days also for re-nomination).The law says after renomination, ECZ shall hold the canceled scheduled election within 30 days later after the schedule. This can mean 60 days outside the prescribed date for election and, in this case, it will mean holding the election in October that year.Now, imagine, as it were in 2016 where we had 16 presidential candidates and, say 10 decide to connive to resign at intervals? As the ECZ is about to hold the canceled election, another presidential candidate or the same one resigns (as no law stops a resignee to be re-nominated in the fresh nominations), it will mean another re-nomination and fresh date for presidential election and the trend can continue as the 10 take turns to resign.The provision give opportunity for connivance among the candidates to make it impossible for the country to hold the presidential election or any election at ward, district and constituency. This is what the President was highlighting.So it is possible for Zambia to not hold presidential election in August of that year of the General Election if there is a resignation, death or and disqualification by the court of any of the duly nominated presidential candidate.Those are some of the Constitutional provisions that need to be relooked at and as the UPND, we call on Constitutional law brains to take keen interest in guiding the nation because a Constitutional lacuna has the potential to not only derail economic progress but also fuel national uncertainties.I have Submitted.
Cheelo Katambo
Deputy Media Director – UPND
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM
