Third Term Debate Resurfaces

With elections scheduled for 2021 the third term debate has resurfaced again this week. The debate centres around the question of President Lungu’s ability to stand for a third term in office. The constitution includes a strict two term limit. However, there is a disagreement over whether President Lungu’s first term counts, as he served for only 18 months after elections in January 2015 which were prompted by the death of former President Michael Sata in 2014.

Among those to dispute the President’s eligibility are constitutional lawyer John Sangwa who argues that because President Lungu has been elected twice he cannot seek a third term.

“When you read the language of the Constitution, it is very clear. The bottom line is President Lungu does not qualify to stand in 2021, the issue is as simple as that. The Constitution does not talk about the number of times you serve, it is the number of times you get elected… There is no provision for a third term in our Constitution!” Sangwa has stated.

Sangwa claims that once President Lungu filed his nomination it can be challenged so long as the controversial Bill 10 has not been passed. Among its provisions are a repeal of the right to challenge the nomination of a presidential candidate.

NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili is also disputing the President’s eligibility.

“Actually the court misdirected itself when it started talking about the length of the presidential term. Nobody took anybody to court to complain about the period of the presidential term. What people went to court for, was the fact that can a President who has been elected twice and sworn in twice, run for office?” Kambwili has stated.

The NDC leader has also warned on the challenge presented by Bill 10 claiming, “The catch here is that PF is desperate to push Bill 10, the reason is in Bill 10, they want to remove one cardinal law which states that ‘anybody can challenge the nomination of somebody who has been nominated to run for Presidency’.”

However, on the other side of the debate stands the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), which claims that the question of the President’s eligibility in 2021 has already been settled decisively by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the period January 2015 to September 2016 cannot be considered a full term. The group argue that the important issue is not whether a president has been sworn in or not, but the duration of his term.

PF Secretary General Davies Mwila has also defended the President’s right to run, labelling John Sangwa dull and urging him to stay away from politics.