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The Consortium for Good Governance and Constitutionalism for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to dismiss calls seeking the reversal of the nomination and subsequent election of Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) candidate, Bright Nundwe in Chawama Constituency.
Consortium Deputy Chairperson, Solomon Ngoma, said the demand attributed to UPND losing candidate Morgan Muunda was “legally untenable” and amounted to inviting the ECZ to exceed its statutory mandate.
In a press statement issued in Lusaka on Sunday, Ngoma said the legal provisions cited by Muunda did not give the ECZ authority to invalidate a candidate’s nomination, noting that the ECZ Act contains no Section 35 empowering such action.
“The law is settled and unambiguous. Elections in Zambia are primarily governed by the Electoral Process Act, which does not give the ECZ powers to cancel or invalidate a nomination on the grounds alleged,” Ngoma said.
He stressed that anyone dissatisfied with a nomination or election outcome has a clear and exclusive legal remedy under the Electoral Process Act — to file an election petition within 14 days, in accordance with Sections 100(3) and 96(1)(a).
Ngoma warned that efforts to bypass the courts by pressuring the ECZ to intervene administratively were unlawful and posed a constitutional threat to Zambia’s democratic order.
He argued that ECZ’s corrective powers under Section 76 of the Electoral Process Act were limited strictly to correcting errors made by electoral officers during the tabulation of results — and only within seven days of the declaration of results.
“These powers do not extend to revisiting nominations or disqualifying candidates after the fact,” he said.
Ngoma urged the ECZ to safeguard its institutional integrity, adhere strictly to the law, and avoid actions that could erode public confidence in the electoral process.
He further advised aspiring candidates ahead of the August 2026 general elections to familiarise themselves with the Constitution and electoral laws, warning that political ambition should never supersede the rule of law.
“Zambia’s democracy is best protected when disputes are resolved through lawful, orderly and constitutional means,” Ngoma said.
He also addressed arguments suggesting that parliamentary candidates must be registered voters in the constituencies they intend to contest, describing such claims as misplaced and legally inaccurate.
Ngoma noted that neither the Constitution nor the Electoral Process Act required a parliamentary candidate to be registered as a voter in the constituency they seek to represent, emphasising that any dispute on the matter must be resolved by the Constitutional Court — not the ECZ.
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