Thursday June 3, 2014 will surely go down as a one of the most joyous days in the political lives of Lucky Mulusa, Charles Kakoma, Sydney Chisanga, Victoria Kalima and Eustarckio Kazonga who are just five of the eight opposition Members of Parliament that had their seats recently nullified following petitions by the ruling Patriotic Front, PF, after the September 20, 2011 elections.
The decision by Zambia’s Supreme Court to allow the five former Members of Parliament to re-contest their seats is indeed a landmark decision. This is certainly a plus for the country’s growing democracy and shows a very distinct sign of the Judiciary’s independence. Bravo Supreme Court, bravo!
Many of stakeholders, particularly the affected former lawmakers and their political parties, feared that the Judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court was compromised by the ruling PF especially that the Acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda is seen by many as having inclinations towards the party in power. But the men and women of the highest bench deserve to be praised for their ruling, a very bold one at that. Justices Gregory Phiri, Elizabeth Muyovwe, Marvin Mwanamwambwa, Muyinda Wanki, Hildah Chibomba, Evans Hamaundu and Florence Lengalenga must all be praised for what they have done.
The fact that Justice Chibesakunda recused herself, even under what appears to have been pressure from the lawyers representing the former lawmakers, this in a ways adds to her integrity but even more so to that of the Supreme Court bench.
President Michael Sata’s PF government had in a rather controversial way been working against allowing the former legislators to re-contest their seats. This move has failed and the path that the country has now set on is that of having by-elections in Solwezi Central, Zambezi West, Kasengwa, Vubwi and Mkushi South parliamentary constituencies. Two of these seats were held by the United Party for National Development, UPND, with the other three by the former ruling party the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy, MMD.
It is common knowledge that these two opposition parties will all want to retain their seats. Admittedly, all the registered opposition political parties that feel they have what it takes to participate in the by-elections to follow the landmark ruling will do just that. But they all must be alive to the fact that the common adversary is the ruling PF, a party which has gained numbers in parliament through by-elections and the appointment of opposition Members of Parliament to deputy minister positions.
We will have to wait and see how the entire opposition will proceed to ensure that the five parliamentary seats do not go to the PF. On the other hand, the PF will certainly want to win all the five seats.
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