By Isaac Zulu
The Electoral Commission of Zambia has no powers to bar an aspiring candidate from filing nominations, says Bowman Lusambo.
And Raphael Nakachinda has said that the Electoral Commission of Zambia has no locus standi to stop an aspiring candidate from filing in nominations.
Meanwhile, former Matero member of parliament Faustina Sinyangwe said the constitutional reference on barring people who created vacancies not to be allowed to stand refers to people who from one party to another.
Speaking with Daily Revelation on the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s position to bar him and Joe Malanji from filing-in nominations, Lusambo, whose Kabushi parliamentary seat was nullified by the ECZ for alleged electoral malpractices by the Constitutional Court, said that what the electoral body is doing is unconstitutional, and that they were doing the bidding of the UPND who were scared of losing the elections
“They are just being petty. What the ECZ has done is unConstitutional. They have no powers to stop a candidate from filing in nominations. That is the mandate of the Courts. And so, the ECZ should not over step their boundaries,” said Lusambo.
He charged that the UPND administration is using state institutions to stop opposition political parties from participating in the governance of the country.
“That party, the UPND is a dead political party. These are business men who don’t know anything about politics and want to use every government department or institutions to stop political opponents from participating in the governance of the country,” charged Lusambo. “They know that they cannot win an election. It is now clear that even during the 2021 general elections something went wrong… they won the elections by fluke. They are just scared of us.”
He vowed that the Patriot Front will go ahead and file in nominations for the already adopted candidates for the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections.
“Personally, I am not even moved. We are going ahead with the filing in of nominations. We are doing everything possible,” added Lusambo.
And Nakachinda, who is Patriot Front member of central committee chairman for information and publicity, said that the ECZ has said the decision made by the electoral body is illegal and reckless.
“How can the Electoral Commission of Zambia petition itself and make a ruling? They have no locus standi in making such a decision. It’s not in their ambit but the Court. That is why Article 52 of the Constitution provides that after filling in nominations within a specific period one can challenge that particular nomination,” said Nakachinda. “So that decision is a cadre decision, reckless and illegal.”
He charged that the Electoral Commission of Zambia arrived at such a decision on instructions from Community House.
“That statement came from somewhere else, probably from Community House, and put on the Electoral Commission of Zambia headed paper. But that is dangerous for the growth of our democracy,” said Nakachinda.
