A Consortium of Civil Society Organisations on Governance and Constitutionalism has urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia to reject, in the clearest possible terms, the call by United Party for National Development aspiring candidate Morgan Muunda to nullify the nomination and election of Bright Nundwe of the Forum for Development and Democracy as candidate for Chawama Constituency.
In a statement, Sunday, Deputy Chairperson Solomon Ngoma emphasised that the Electoral Commission of Zambia Act, which Muunda refers to, does not contain any provision granting the Commission powers to invalidate a candidate’s nomination.
Ngoma clarified that elections in Zambia are governed by the Electoral Process Act, and Section 35 of that Act does not empower the Commission to cancel a nomination on the grounds cited.
He explained that the law provides a clear and exclusive remedy for such disputes, which is to file an election petition within fourteen days under Section 100(3) read with Section 96(1)(a) of the Electoral Process Act.
Ngoma warned that any attempt to bypass this legal process by pressuring the Commission to act outside its mandate is both unlawful and constitutionally dangerous.
He further noted that the Commission’s corrective powers under Section 76 are strictly limited to correcting tabulation errors within seven days of result declaration and do not extend to revisiting nominations.
Ngoma also addressed the argument that a candidate must be registered in the constituency they wish to contest, describing it as a constitutional matter that should be determined by the Constitutional Court.
He stated that neither the Constitution nor the Electoral Process Act requires a parliamentary candidate to be registered as a voter in the same constituency.
Ngoma urged the Commission to safeguard its institutional integrity by adhering strictly to the law and resisting any unlawful political pressure.
He called on all aspiring candidates to familiarise themselves with the Constitution and electoral laws, stressing that political ambition must never override the rule of law.