Lawsuit claims Constitutional Court violated Zambian Constitution in presidential petition proceedings

Solicitor General Abraham Mwansa has insisted that the High Court should wholly dismiss the UPND Presidential petition on the right to be heard, saying it’s a waste of the court’s time because the lower court has no powers to direct the Constitutional Court to rehear the case. But UPND lawyer John Sangwa has insisted that in dismissing the petition without hearing it, the Constitutional Court violated Article 18(9) of the Constitution, adding that hearing of the petition was not fair, and that the time given was unreasonable. [ . . . ] Sangwa said the petition hearing was not fair and the time which was given, although set by the Constitution, was not reasonable. “It is important to note that [the] Constitution gives a right to any person in Zambia to challenge the outcome of the Presidential election. It is a civil right. The parties must be given a fair hearing and it should be undertaken within a reasonable time. In this case, the process was not fair and the time given, though set by the Constitution, was not reasonable. Whether one has been validly elected or not, the Constitutional Court must be independent and impartial,” he said.
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