PETITIONERS, OTHERS HAIL COURT RULING

OPPOSITION political parties have described the Constitutional Court judgement that President Edgar Lungu is eligible to strand in the 2021 elections as a landmark judgment which must be respected by all.

Various political party leaders and commentators spoken to by the Daily Nation yesterday after the judgement said the outcome was obvious as it was not a deniable fact that President Lungu was serving his first term under the current constitution and that the judgement must settle all political dust that had arisen over the matter.

Here are some of the views from some political party leaders talked to:

DAN PULE : Christian Democratic Party (CDP) president

Firstly, we are grateful that this matter has now been settled for the good of the nation and it is all by the grace of God and secondly, the uncertainty that was there as to whether President Lungu would contest or not is now over. So, President Lungu and the PF, our team, can now concentrate on governance and of course preparing for the 2021 elections.

We are grateful to the Constitution Court judges because the judgement was unanimous and the situation has now been clarified that anyone who has not served a five-year term as president cannot be considered to have served as such and we are excited about this landmark judgement.

WRIGHT MUSOMA: Zambia Republican (ZRP) president

We are very happy that this has been settled and people will not be lied to as the intention was by UPND and its allies and so, no one will be misled because it has now been decided.

No one must undertake that evil route of saying President Lungu is not eligible. The beauty of the whole thing is that all the seven judges unanimously agreed that the one year that Lungu ruled cannot be construed as a full term. This is victory for the whole nation because if President Lungu was hindered, there would have been chaos in this country.

All we can say is that light has triumphed over darkness because this was a very contentious issue and some unscrupulous people wanted to use this to derail President Lungu but we thank God that we woke up early enough and decided to take the case to court where this issue could be interpreted and the court has rightly done so.

Of course it was a heated battle because our friends had the luxury of being joined by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) then, under the leadership of Linda Kasonde who is a UPND sympathiser, thereby making it somehow difficult for us. Of course they managed to bring on board some legal luminaries but no one can fight the truth.

PETER CHANDA : New Congress Party (NCP) president has described Elias Chipimo and other politicians that had been making comments in a bid to make their own judgement, as shallow minded who have been shamed.

While the court is making such a judgement, people must refrain from commenting to allow the judges to apply the law independently.

Mr Chanda observed that the warning from the Concourt president was strong enough to deter would be contemours.

ROBERT MWANZA: Citizen’s Democratic Party (CDP) leader says the judgement will allow the nation to operate in peace.

He said there is no room for acrimony because the issue has been settled and this must be respected by all.

ENOCK TONGA: 3rd Liberation Movement (3LM) president Enock Tonga

That is the decision of the court. We all need to respect it and for us, it is welcome and we wish President Lungu all the best in 2021 because that settles everything else. It is a good precedence for the country, which has been set and when we respect the rule of law, it means we are going to progress as a country.

Our cry is that when there cases in the court of law, they must be disposed off as quickly as possible and the trend has always been that courts drag cases. This was the case involving the Head of State and for him to work effectively, he needed peace of mind but it was not easy because mentally, he was affected despite being thee Head of State because he is a human being also.

COZMO MUMBA: National Revolution Party (NRP) president

I think our judiciary has demonstrated once again that it is independent, well-focused, and we should respect it.

I am appealing to my fellow political leaders that we must not bombard and overload the judiciary with cases to which we even have answers because we all knew that President Lungu is eligible but why did some people waste the court’s time? I urge all the political party leaders to start preparing for the next elections now that we know the contender. All the presidential candidates must stop these quarrels and squabbles and start preparing for the 2021 elections now that we know the contender from the ruling party. This is what we should be preoccupied with by selling presidential candidates.

CHRISANTIUS CHANGWEREZA: PF member and former aspiring candidate Kanyama constituency says as the final authority on constitutional matters, the Constitutional Court decision is final and critics should now focus on developmental issues as opposed to pursuing propaganda which adds no value to the nation.

Mr Changwereza said for many legal minds the landmark ruling was not surprising because the constitution is clear on what constituted a full term of office.

He challenged opposition leaders, “obsessed with fighting the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) to find other avenues of expending their energies.”

EDWIN SAKALA Zambia Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM) president says the eligibility of President Lungu for the 2021 elections was very obvious from the very beginning because you cannot call one year as a term. I think that verdict is justice enough and we must all respect it.

EDWARD MUMBI: former UPND presidential spokesperson says, “We all know that when differences arise, we go to court and only one party comes out with a victory. It is not like a football match where you can draw and therefore, all must respect the outcome. Our courts in this country are courts of evidence and not hearsay statements and this judgement is a landmark judgement and people, especially the UPND and NDC who have been talking about the rule of law must respect the outcome of this case. No one must start insulting the judiciary because judgement now has been passed. This has settled the dust which some opposition political parties raised but it is now time for them to go back to the drawing board and start mobilising for 2021 so that they don’t cry that they have been robbed of their victory again.”

SPUKI MULEMWA: Zambian DNA president has said that the issue has been concluded by a competent court, we do not expect any more debate on this issue and President Lungu must be given time to work until the next election.

A lot has been said, some statements contemptuous and aimed at sway the decision of the judges and derailing the court judgment, but at the end, truth has triumphed and all those who were making unnecessary noise must shut up.

Whoever will start attacking the judiciary must be cited for contempt because the judiciary, just like any government institution, must be respected.