MWANZA QUESTIONS ECZ LEGAL AUTHORITY FOR MANDEVU POLL

The Zambian Civil Liberties Union (ZCLU) says the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has no legal basis for its decision to conduct a fresh parliamentary election in Mandevu Constituency.

ZCLU Executive Director Isaac Mwanza stated that no law provides for what must happen when ballots and election materials are destroyed at tallying centres.

Mwanza added that the decision followed an attack at the Mandevu totalling centre during aggregation, which left the Returning Officer unable to declare results.

He observed that neither Section 56 nor Section 75 of the Electoral Process Act provides an obvious legal foundation for the action.

Mwanza noted that Section 56 applies before voting commences, yet the Mandevu incident occurred after voting and during aggregation.

He advanced that Section 75 allows a revote at an affected polling station where ballots are lost before counting, but Mandevu involved destroyed equipment at the totalling centre.

Mwanza said that unless ECZ can show the circumstances fall within Section 75, that provision cannot justify cancelling the poll across the entire constituency.

This came to light in a statement issued in Lusaka following the ECZ’s decision to call the proposed election a “by-election”.

He affirmed that Article 57 allows a by-election only where a parliamentary vacancy occurs, yet no MP was declared elected and no seat was vacated.

Mwanza emphasised that ECZ must explain what vacancy triggered a by-election and why a targeted remedy at affected polling stations would not suffice.

He further stated that the core question is whether ECZ has identified any law empowering it to nullify an already-conducted election and order a fresh constituency-wide poll.

Mwanza said that without such a provision, this matter should be subjected to judicial scrutiny by the Constitutional Court.

Kumwesu