Now HH seeks High Court interpretation of ’14 days’ issue

The case in which Hakainde Hichilema is challenging the validity of the reelection of Edgar Lungu has taken a new twist, with the petitioners’ lawyers now filing in a motion requesting the Constitutional Court to refer the matter of the 14 days time frame within which the petition must be heard to the High Court for determination.

The petitioners want the Constitutional Court, which is the highest court in the land, to refer the matter to the High Court, an inferior court by legal standards, for determination. The motion has been filed in line with the provisions of Article 28 of the Constitution.

On Thursday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the 14 day period in which the presidential petition can be heard will expire tomorrow, Friday, September 2, 2016.

But the petitioners were dissatisfied with this ruling and want it to be examined as to whether it is in accord with the provisions of Article 18, which guarantees the protection of the law.

This motion by the petitioners will be heard tomorrow at 07:00 hour before the main matter.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court on Thursday threw out an application by the petitioners’ lawyers to amendment the main Petition.

The lawyers had hoped to include among other things, a petition to recount Lusaka constituencies and Lundazi Central.

Earlier in the week, the Court threw out 52 grounds and witness statements of the Petition as they were irregular and filed out of court’s authorised time.

This necessitated the UPND lawyers to file a fresh request of amendments to the main Petition.

But the application has been thrown out for the same earlier reasons and for lack of time to hear such amendments.