The Concourt is to be Blamed for Lusambo and Malanji's Disqualifications - Pilato

 The Concourt is to be Blamed for Lusambo and Malanji's Disqualifications

By Pilato

Okay to start with, I am not a lawyer and I do not intend to sound like one. But since all of us are expected to follow the law even if we are not lawyers, allow me to express my thoughts on the ECZ and the Malanji and Lusambo issue. 

I have read the provisions of the constitution quoted by ECZ in their statement and have read the Concourt judgement in the addressing the matter. I have also read the statement by LAZ and my conclusion is that the Concourt is deliberately neglecting its responsibility to provide solutions to constitutional questions in this country. I draw this conclusion by looking at the following;

The Concourt has not in its judgement disqualified Mr Bowman Lusambo or Mr Joe Malanji. The judgement says nullified. The question is, does the nullification of an election equal the disqualification of the candidate that won in the said election?

The Concourt ruled that Lusambo’s election was procured by fraud and was marred with violence. The Kabushi was nullified on grounds of electoral malpractices. 

In Article 72  (2) (c) of the Zambian constitution speaks of a code of conduct. Is this the electoral code of conduct or the parliamentary and ministerial code of conduct?  

I think the Concourt should be specific in responding to constitutional questions to avoid the confusion generated by their judgements. 

So now we are left to use our creativity to figure out what the Concourt meant in its judgement. 

On the other hand the ECZ have interpreted the “nullification” of the elections of Mr Bowman Lusambo and Mr Malanji as to mean disqualification. 

On what grounds can one be disqualified from an election? Article 70 (2) does provide the grounds on which one can be disqualified participating in parliamentary elections. I think the established grounds on which one can be disqualified does not apply to Lusambo and Mr Malanji. 

I think the duty is on the Concourt to come back to the people and tell us if by “nullification” they meant disqualification. 

I think that the  move by ECZ to reject nominations from the two PF members is baseless especially if it’s by the constitutional provisions they have indicated in their statement. The Concourt judgment does not state whether the two members of the PF are disqualified or not but that their elections were nullified. 

We may have issues with the PF as a party and may not even like Mr Bowman Lusambo and Mr Joe Malanji but we should guard against destroying ourselves in dealing with their sins. We do not have to become the evil we are trying to cure. We must get back to the Concourt as soon as possible and get a clear position on this matter.