PETITIONER SLAPPED WITH COSTS

By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA AN electorate has been condemned to pay costs after withdrawing a matter where she wanted the Constitutional Court to invali- date the nomination of former Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA) chief executive officer Zindaba Soko to contest the Chipata Central Constituency. Cynthia Zulu wanted the Concourt to declare that the …

PETITIONER SLAPPED WITH COSTS
By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA AN electorate has been condemned to pay costs after withdrawing a matter where she wanted the Constitutional Court to invali- date the nomination of former Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA) chief executive officer Zindaba Soko to contest the Chipata Central Constituency. Cynthia Zulu wanted the Concourt to declare that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) was not allowed to accept Mr Soko’s nomination as a MP because he was dismissed from public office on grounds of misconduct within the past five years as per article 70(2)(b) of the Constitution no 2 of 2016. She was also seeking a declaration that Mr Soko, who is standing as an independent candidate, was not eligible to contest as MP in accordance with article 70(2) (h) of the con- stitution (amendment) no.2 of 2016. She contended that article 70 (2) (h) of the Constitution disqualifies an individual from contesting as MP if such a person has, in the immediate proceeding five years was removed from public office on grounds of gross misconduct. She said based on the article, ECZ has the statutory mandate to revoke any nomination of individuals who have grossly misconducted themselves in public office in the preceding five years as stipulated. When the petition came up for hearing before Judge Margaret Munalula, Ms Zulu informed the court that she was discontinuing the case. In an interview, Mr Soko described Ms Mwanza’s petition as malicious claiming that she was just used by individuals who wanted to see him out of the ballot. SUBSCRIBE TO READ MORE STORIES SUBSCRIBE