By NATION REPORTER
The decision by the electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to proceed with the by-election in Kabwata in spite of the withdrawal of United Progressive Party candidate (UPP) Mr Francis Libanda, was a trap and trick by the UPND that would disadvantage the opposition, senior Patriotic Front (PF) member, Chishimba Kambwili has warned.
He said the ECZ had no authority to disregard the constitution which called for cancellation of elections if a candidate withdrew.
But the Socialist Party says the decision by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to proceed with the election was correct.
Any decision to postpone on account the withdrawal of a UPP candidate Francis Libanda would be a misuse of clause 52 sections 6 of the Republican Constitution.
But Mr. Kambwili explained that the constitution was very clear that the withdrawal of a candidate would automatically lead to cancellation of elections, “The constitution does not give any discretion to any office to proceed otherwise,” he said.
The plan , he said, was to petition the seat once the PF won the seat as was expected, “Don’t fall in this trap, let us insist that the constitution if followed to the letter so that our victory will be questioned,” he said.
Socialist Party president, Fred M’membe says ECZ is on very firm grounds in not allowing fresh nominations in the Kabwata parliamentary by-election following the withdrawal of the UPP candidate.
“They have used the absurdity rule and not the literal interpretation of the statute,” Dr M’membe says.
Socialist Party First Vice President and General Secretary Cosmas Musumali in an interview said clause 52 was meant for calamities such as death of a candidate and not for people who entered the race but resigned later, expecting that new elections will be held.
Dr Musumali advised ECZ to allow campaigns and the elections to go as planned because if they were postponed, it would set a terrible precedence for the democratic process of the country because it would mean any candidate would now withdraw at will in the future.
Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, Dr Musumali said the law should not be misused in the Kabwata parliamentary by-election after the withdrawal of a candidate because the Zambian electoral system deserved to have credibility.
And Dr Musumali said they were disturbing allegations involving the UPND of having engineered the resignation of the candidate because the ruling party was having a hard time to sale their candidate.
He said the allegations were serious as they would spell doom in the Zambian democracy and called on investigative wings to get onto the matter as quickly as possible.
But UPND Secretary General Batuke Imenda described the allegations against the party as a lie because they did not have such schemes having spent a lot of money in the campaigns.
Mr Imenda had since challenged the Socialist Party to provide evidence to back their allegations against the UPND, labeling them as a party known for propaganda and lies which has become their specialty.
And the ECZ reportedly told candidates during nominations that after filing nominations had closed no withdrawals by candidates would be recognized by the commission.
The returning officer when addressing the candidates at Nakatindi hall on the day of nomination told them that if anyone wanted to withdraw from the election they were supposed to do it on that particular day before the nomination closed.
And the ECZ has said it had not received the letter of withdrawal from the UPP candidate.
And Dr M’membe says the absurd result principle in statutory interpretation provides an exception to the rule that a statute should be interpreted according to its plain meaning.
“ In an age of increasing debate about the proper approach to statutory interpretation, and of increasing emphasis on literal approaches, the absurd result principle poses intriguing challenges to literalism and to theories of interpretation generally. The absurd result principle is extraordinarily powerful. It authorizes a judge to ignore a statute’s plain words in order to avoid the outcome those words would require in a particular situation,” he said in a Facebook post.
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