President Lungu Directs Police To Effectively Enforce Covid-19 Guidelines During Campaigns By Patricia Male The Constitutional Court has rejected lawyer, John Sangwa’s bid to discontinue a matter in which the legal resources foundation limited sued President Edgar Lungu claiming that his nomination papers filed with the electoral commission of Zambia to run for president be invalidated. Mr. Sangwa on Monday this week filed a notice to wholly discontinue the petition after an identical petition involving Sishuwa Sishuwa and Linda Kasonde’s of chapter one foundation limited as petitioners had been filed into court on Friday last week. When the matter came up this morning before constitutional court Judge Mungeni Mulenga, the court noted that the notice of discontinuance had cited a wrong provision of the law and rejected to accept it. The notice relied on the rules of the Supreme Court of England instead of the constitutional court rules of Zambia. The Court went further to consolidate the two petitions into one cause. At the same hearing, an application by the Attorney General to join the matter as second respondent was heard and granted. The Legal Resources Foundation becomes the first petitioner, Sishuwa Sishuwa is now the second petitioner, and Chapter One Foundation is the third petitioner while the Attorney General is now the second respondent. The respondents have been given up to Monday, 31st May, 2021 to file their responses and the matter will be heard by the full court on either 8th or 9th June, 2021. PHOENIX FM NEWS
By Leah Ngoma and Patricia Male
President Edgar Lungu has today launched the Patriotic Party campaigns ahead of the August polls with a directive to the police and ministry of health to ensure effective enforcement of Covid-19 guidelines during campaigns without fear or favour.
The head of state is therefore hopeful that the failure to follow covid-19 preventive guidelines as witnessed when some opposition political party leaders were filing nominations last week will not be repeated.
Speaking during the launch in Lusaka this morning, President Lungu has also challenged opposition political parties to avoid political rallies as advised by the Electoral Commission of Zambia -ECZ- and ministry of health stating that the lives of Zambians are important.
President Lungu has warned that he will not allow his party or anyone to risk the lives of Zambians for political expediency.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has directed party members to focus on explaining the party`s achievements in the last 10 years such as infrastructure development among others as they campaign and avoid messages that center on character assassination.
But Transparency International Zambia –TIZ- has charged that the purported ban on political rallies by the PF is cosmetic one designed to advance the false narrative that the party is heeding the advice given by the ECZ.
TIZ Executive Director, Maurice Nyambe says despite the ECZ not banning the holding of rallies but rather only “discouraged” political parties from holding rallies as a covid-19 mitigation measure, the PF has responded to this development by banning public rallies for their candidates taking part in the forthcoming elections.
However, Mr. Nyambe says TIZ has noted that despite this highly publicized ban by the PF, some senior party officials such as Mr. Joseph Malanji, a member of the PF central committee, held a rally in Chibombo District last weekend to receive what was said to be UPND defectors.
He states that while the PF has been commended in some circles for announcing the ban, TIZ is urging the authorities not to use this as a justification for preventing opposition political parties who may decide to go ahead with the holding of rallies from doing so.
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The post President Lungu Directs Police To Effectively Enforce Covid-19 Guidelines During Campaigns By Patricia Male The Constitutional Court has rejected lawyer, John Sangwa’s bid to discontinue a matter in which the legal resources foundation limited sued President Edgar Lungu claiming that his nomination papers filed with the electoral commission of Zambia to run for president be invalidated. Mr. Sangwa on Monday this week filed a notice to wholly discontinue the petition after an identical petition involving Sishuwa Sishuwa and Linda Kasonde’s of chapter one foundation limited as petitioners had been filed into court on Friday last week. When the matter came up this morning before constitutional court Judge Mungeni Mulenga, the court noted that the notice of discontinuance had cited a wrong provision of the law and rejected to accept it. The notice relied on the rules of the Supreme Court of England instead of the constitutional court rules of Zambia. The Court went further to consolidate the two petitions into one cause. At the same hearing, an application by the Attorney General to join the matter as second respondent was heard and granted. The Legal Resources Foundation becomes the first petitioner, Sishuwa Sishuwa is now the second petitioner, and Chapter One Foundation is the third petitioner while the Attorney General is now the second respondent. The respondents have been given up to Monday, 31st May, 2021 to file their responses and the matter will be heard by the full court on either 8th or 9th June, 2021. PHOENIX FM NEWS appeared first on Phoenix FM.