Zambia High Court Receives 67 Parliamentary Election Petitions

67 POLL PETITIONS BEFORE HIGH COURT A TOTAL of 67 parliamentary election petitions have been filed before the High Court country wide following the expiry of the 14-day legal period for challenging the results of the August 13 general election. The petitions represent 67 of the 224 parliamentary seats declared by Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), with Lusaka High Court alone accounting for 41 petitions. The losing candidates are challenging the election results over alleged electoral malpractices, including vote buying, defamation and political violence, among other irregularities which they contend affected the outcome of the polls. Under the law, parliamentary election petitions must be heard and determined in open court within 90 days of filing. An MP whose election has been challenged generally retains the seat pending determination of the petition. Among the latest petitions are those filed in Lubansenshi, Lima, Chadiza West, Chongwe East, Chilubi and Chama South constituencies. ZDM