Zambia’s Constitutional Court has thrown out the election petition case filed by the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) against the re-election of President Edgar Lungu.
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UPND’s Hakainde Hichilema and his running mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba petitioned the election of President Lungu alleging vote rigging.
The Electoral commission declared Lungu victor of the polls with 50.35% and insists that Lungu’s Patriotic Front (PF) party defeated the UPND’s Hichilema fairly and squarely.
Lungu took office only past year when he beat Hichilema in a snap election.
The Constitutional Court ruled that they could not hear the matter outside the 14 day window provided for by the constitution.
Hichilema had argued for an extension after legal arguments lasted until midnight (2200 GMT) on Friday.
At the court, where hundreds of his supporters had gathered on Monday, Hichilema – known as “HH” – gave no immediate reaction to the judgement.
Following a campaign plagued by violence and media rights violations, incumbent Lungu was declared victor with over 50 percent of the vote, narrowly defeating Hichilema, a businessman vying for the presidency for a fifth time, who secured over 47 percent. Lungu must preside over an economy that’s growing at its slowest pace since 1998 amid a slump in the price of copper that accounts for more than 70 percent of the country’s export earnings.
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This post was syndicated from The Guardian NigeriaThe Guardian Nigeria.
