LUSAKA – President Edgar Lungu says African countries can learn a lot from the expeditious dispensation of the Presidential Election Petition in Zimbabwe.
ZANIS reports that President Lungu praised the Zimbabwean legal system for swiftly settling the presidential petition that had raised anxiety and political rifts between two major political groupings in the neighbouring country.
Addressing journalists at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka today shortly before departure for Zimbabwe, President Lungu said the swift verdict is a demonstration of the effectiveness of Zimbabwe’s judicial system in administering justice.
On Friday August 24, the Constitutional Court in Zimbabwe dismissed a presidential petition from the Movement for Democratic Congress (MDC) alliance challenging the election of President Mnangagwa in the country’s July 30 polls.
The Zimbabwean constitutional court ruled that the MDC alliance failed to provide proof of electoral irregularities.
In 2016, the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) led by its leader Hakainde Hichilema petioned the outcome of August polls won by President Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF).
The UPND presidential petition dragged the course of the fourteen days provided by the constitution without being heard as it was punctuated by preliminary issues before it was tossed out.
President Lungu said African countries should not be ashamed to learn from others especially Zimbabwe which has settled its electoral petition in record time.
“Let’s not be ashamed to learn from others, that’s why it’s important to interact with neighbours, the international community, you cannot be the best” said President Lungu
The Zambian Head of State encouraged African politicians to learn to respect and abide by the due process of the law.