By PETER SICHALI
IT is an abuse of court to shower the judicial system with bulky of petitions when the election was largely declared to have reflected the will of the people, Lusaka lawyer Jonas Zimba has said.
Mr Zimba said the large number of petitions witnessed in the aftermath of the August 12 general elections should not be blamed on the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
Over 400 local government seats across the country have been petitioned while more than 50 parlaimentary seats have also been petitioned.
Mr Zimba said the number of the Parliamentary petitions have potential to weaken the opposition in the country.
He however maintained that this was an abuse of the courts despite being a democratic right.
Mr Zimba said in an interview that the petitions had no bearing on the credibility of ECZ because it conducted the election in a professional manner.
“The 54 petitions the country has witnessed after the 2021 general elections have no bearing on the ECZ, because it conducted elections as enshrined in the constitution of Zambia,” Mr Zimba said.
Mr Zimba said the calls for decommissioning the ECZ because of petitions are irresponsible and should not be condoned in a democratic dispension.
“ECZ is a democratic institution and it conducted elections and results were delivered, there is nothing wrong with it and such calls should not be entertained,” he said.
Mr Zimba said it was a democratic right to petition the results of the elections but it should not blamed on ECZ.
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