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Socialist Party presidential candidate Fred M’membe and his running mate, Dolika Banda, will remain on the ballot for the August 2026 General Election after the Constitutional Court dismissed a petition challenging Banda’s academic qualifications.
The court held that governance activist, Isaac Mwanza, and the Consortium of Civil Society Organizations on Governance and Constitutionalism failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove their claim that Banda did not possess a Grade 12 certificate or its equivalent as required by the Constitution.
Delivering judgment, the court ruled that the burden of proof rested with the petitioners and that they had failed to discharge that burden.
“The burden is on he who alleges,” the court stated, adding that the petitioners could not rely on evidence produced by the respondents or the State to cure deficiencies in their own case.
The court found that while the matter was properly before it, the petitioners had not produced evidence demonstrating that Banda lacked the requisite qualifications apart from relying on two letters presented in support of their case.
Prior to the hearing, lawyers representing M’membe and Banda sought leave to introduce additional academic documents, including an Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, a Higher National Diploma in Business and Finance, and university transcripts.
The application was opposed by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), the Attorney General and the petitioners, who argued that the record had already closed and that introducing fresh evidence at that stage would prejudice the proceedings.
They maintained that the dispute was limited to whether Banda possessed a Grade 12 certificate or its equivalent and that higher qualifications were not relevant to that determination.
The petitioners further argued that admitting the documents would amount to trial by ambush because they had not been afforded an opportunity to verify their authenticity.
In response, the defence submitted that the court had inherent powers to admit additional evidence in the interests of justice and that no party would suffer prejudice.
However, the Constitutional Court dismissed the application, citing Order 12 Rule 6 of the Constitutional Court Rules, which bars interlocutory applications within seven days of a hearing.
In his submissions, Mwanza argued that Article 110(2) of the Constitution requires a running mate to possess the same qualifications as a presidential candidate, including a Grade 12 certificate or its equivalent.
He contended that Banda’s academic credentials fell short of that threshold because the certificate relied upon did not include English Language, which he argued was a mandatory subject.
Mwanza further submitted that because a presidential candidate and running mate contest elections on a joint ticket, any disqualification of the running mate should automatically affect the presidential candidate.
Solicitor General Marshal Muchende, appearing for the Attorney General, supported the petition and argued that Banda’s Cambridge qualifications did not meet the academic standards required for a Grade 12 certificate under Zambian educational requirements.
He submitted that because a presidential candidate and running mate contest elections as a single ticket, the qualifications of one directly affect the validity of the other.
Muchende argued that Article 110(2) requires a running mate to possess the same qualifications as a presidential candidate and that failure to satisfy those qualifications would render the joint candidature defective.
He further contended that the Constitutional Court had jurisdiction to scrutinise whether the ECZ acted in accordance with the Constitution when it accepted the nomination of M’membe and Banda.
Relying on previous Constitutional Court decisions, Muchende argued that the relationship between a presidential candidate and a running mate is inseparable and that legal consequences affecting one candidate inevitably extend to the other.
He therefore urged the court to uphold the petition and disqualify both candidates from participating in the August election.
However, lawyers representing M’membe and Banda argued that the ECZ lawfully accepted their nomination after verifying Banda’s qualifications through the Examinations Council of Zambia.
They relied on a certification confirming that Banda’s Cambridge qualifications were equivalent to a Zambian Grade 12 certificate and therefore satisfied the constitutional requirements.
Defence lawyer Malisa Bakhati argued that Banda obtained her qualifications in 1978, at a time when the Grade 12 certification system did not exist in its current form in Zambia.
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He submitted that candidates during that period were assessed under different academic frameworks, including the General Certificate of Education and equivalent secondary school qualifications.
Bakhati argued that Banda’s Cambridge qualification, obtained in the United Kingdom, met the constitutional threshold of an equivalent qualification as contemplated under Article 100 of the Constitution.
He maintained that equivalence does not require identical certification but rather recognition of comparable academic standing.
The lawyer further argued that the absence of a Zambian Grade 12 certificate did not automatically disqualify Banda because the Constitution expressly recognises equivalent qualifications obtained outside Zambia.
He also dismissed the contention that the absence of English Language as a standalone subject rendered the qualification invalid, noting that Banda did not study under the Zambian curriculum and that her credentials had already been assessed and verified by the relevant authorities.
The bench, comprising Constitutional Court President Professor Margaret Munalula, Deputy President Arnold Shilimi, and Judges Matthew Chisunka, Judy Mulongoti, Mudford Mwandenga, Maria Kawimbe and Pixie Yangailo, consequently dismissed the petition in its entirety.
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