From Mwanfi To Zambezi, Elections Results Face Court Scrutiny

The courts are busy right now. As the fourteen-day window for challenging the August 13 election results comes to an end, more and more petitions are landing at the High Court, with candidates from all over the country crying foul over bribery, violence and other irregularities.

One of the bigger cases is from UPND’s Sibeso Sefulo, who lost Mwandi constituency to independent Iris Kaingu by less than 500 votes. Sefulo says Kaingu’s people bought votes and interfered with the process, and she’s accusing ECZ of not properly supervising how the results were counted and announced. She wants either the whole election cancelled and redone, or a recount.

Former minister Frank Tayali also filed his own petition after losing Ndola Central by just 819 votes to Resolute Party’s Emmanuel Mulenga.

On the Copperbelt, things have gotten messy too. In Chingola Central, UPND’s Joseph Kazhila claims NRPUP supporters were handing out food and money to voters, with one incident sparking a fight at a polling station. Over in Kabushi, UPND’s Emeldah Mpumpuni says NRPUP’s Tillas Sichinga’s agents were even hiding money inside pens to give to voters.

More petitions have come in from Mwense, Nchanga, Nkana, Kalabo South, Bangweulu, Siavonga and Zambezi Central, and even Lusaka Mayor Simon Mwewa’s own election is being challenged.

All this comes on top of the Mandevu situation, where a fresh election was already ordered after the totalling centre was attacked, and Transparency International Zambia’s continued push for ECZ to release full polling-station results so people can check things for themselves. It’s clear a lot of Zambians aren’t satisfied with how this election went, and the courts are about to be very busy sorting through it all.