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LUSAKA. — The winner of Zambia’s presidential election will be inaugurated next week after the Constitutional Court dismissed a petition challenging his election, a senior official said yesterday.
President-elect Edgar Lungu, who was declared winner of the August 11 general elections, will be inaugurated on September 13, according to Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska.
Msiska said in a statement that the inauguration ceremony will be held at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, directing organising committees to commence preparations for the ceremony.
The president-elect was supposed to have been inaugurated seven days after being declared winner, but this was suspended after main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema petitioned the results in the Constitutional Court, after complaining that the vote was stolen from him.
The Constitutional Court dismissed the petition yesterday after the 14-day period stipulated in the Constitution expired.
The petition was filed on August 19. It was dismissed on a 3-2 vote by the court judges.
Lungu was declared winner of the August 11 polls after getting 1,860,877 votes, while Hichilema got 1,760,347 votes.
Hichilema, according to The Post, claimed that the outcome of the petition against the re-election of Lungu was pre-determined while complaining over the manner in which the Constitutional Court decided to proceed with the matter.
The opposition’s lawyers left the court last Friday after stating that they couldn’t represent their clients adequately as they were only granted three hours for the presidential petition to be heard, as the matter had to be heard within the prescribed 14 day period after filing of the petition.
When his lawyers quit, Zambia’s Constitutional Court granted Hichilema an extension to hear and rule on the case beyond last Friday’s cut-off date to give him more time to present his case.
But the government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the extension was in breach of Zambia’s laws.
“The constitutional provision says that they cannot go beyond 14 days and hearing the case beyond last Friday means they will be hearing the case outside the constitutional provision,” he said.
Zambians were left worried that the legal tussle would delay efforts to revive an economy hurt by weak global commodity prices which have slashed receipts for copper, its top export. — Xinhua/News24
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