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LUSAKA. – It will take a full trial to determine if former Zambian president Edgar Lungu is eligible to stand again, that country’s Constitutional Court has decided.
Lungu hopes to be on the 2026 presidential ballot again, and had hoped to achieve that without more, protracted legal action.
But the merits of the case must be heard, the Constitutional Court said. That will now see youth activist Michelo Chizombe make his argument that Lungu has reached the term limit, and so cannot stand again.
Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) was Zambia’s president between January 2015 and August 2021 until he lost to incumbent Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND).
Lungu has been actively working towards regaining control of the PF, which could give him a good shot at the presidency. Chizombe, however, says the nature of Lungu’s previous time in office precludes him.
Lungu became president after the death of “King Cobra”, Michael Sata, in October 2014. That left Vice-President Guy Scott the acting president, and saw Lungu serve for only 20 months after he was sworn in on 25 January 2015. Lungu argues he “inherited” a presidential term from Sata and that it should not count.– News24.com
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