Lungu Not Eligible for Presidency Rules Constitutional Court

Zambia’s Constitutional Court today decided that former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu is ineligible to hold the office of the presidency, having been elected twice, in 2015 and 2016.

Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha SC welcomed the news of Lungu’s ineligibility, saying, “The Constitution of Zambia is very clear: “No person who has twice been elected as President shall be eligible for re-election to that office”. As the executive, we welcome and respect the court’s decision and urge former President Lungu and his supporters to do the same.”

President Lungu served as the sixth President of the Republic of Zambia between 2015 and 2021. After winning a presidential by-election, Lungu served his first term from January 2015 to January 2016 and his second after winning the election in 2016. 

Despite Zambia’s constitution, which states clearly in Article 35 that “no person who has twice been elected as President shall be eligible for re-election to that office,” Lungu went on to contest the 2021 election as the Presidential candidate for the Patriotic Front. 

Lungu’s 2021 bid for the presidency was unsuccessful, but in November 2024, Lungu announced that he would stand in the 2026 election as the presidential candidate for the newly formed Tonse Alliance.

In October 2021, Lusaka businessman Michelo Chizombe petitioned the Constitutional Court on whether President Lungu was eligible to contest the 2021 elections and any future presidential elections in Zambia. 

Chizombe argued that in previous judgements, the court did not offer an interpretation of Article 35; instead, it ruled in Lungu’s favour that his 2015-2016 stint as President did not constitute a “full term”.

The Honourable Justice Arnold Shilimi, Deputy President of the Constitutional Court, delivered the ruling in Lusaka this morning and explained the court's combined interpretation that “Lungu has been twice elected and has twice held office.”

Reading his final orders, Justice Shilimi concluded that Lungu was “ineligible to participate in any future elections as a presidential candidate.” 

“This decision provides legal clarity for citizens and safeguards our democracy, allowing us to look forward to free, fair and competitive elections in 2026,” added Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha SC in a press release from State House this morning.