By NATION REPORTER
INDEPENDENT candidates have every constitutional right to support any Presidential candidate of their choice or a political party, Lusaka lawyer, Dickson Jere has said.
Mr Jere disputed an interpretation by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) that independent candidates should not be affiliated to any political party.
Mr Jere said being an independent candidate does not stop someone from supporting a Presidential candidate of their choice or political party.
He said the law merely required one not to be a member of a political party.
“You do not need to belong to a political party in order to support a political party! So, independent parliamentary candidate can choose to support a UPND councillor but also the PF Presidential candidate at the same time! An independent candidate is a freelancer,” Mr Jere said
According to ECZ corporate affairs manager, Patricia Luhanga, the pronouncement on independents was in line with the legal requirements that all independent candidates should relinquish political party membership “at least two months immediately before the date of the election.”
“To this end, independent candidates should desist from using campaign materials for political parties or in any way identify themselves with any political party,” she said
Ms Luhanga said the ECZ would not hesitate to take appropriate action, including disqualification of erring candidates.
