Zambia : Constitutional Court Urged To Revisit Running Mate Ruling Before Crisis Deepens

Constitutional Court ruling on running mates risks legal quagmire, lawyer warns

A recent Constitutional Court decision holding that running mates are not candidates has pushed the court itself into an awkward legal position, constitutional lawyer Dr Joseph Chirwa has warned, cautioning that the ruling could create a constitutional crisis unless revisited.

In a statement, Chirwa said the holding places the Constitutional Court in a quagmire it put itself in and will struggle to escape, comparing the situation to an earlier judgment, Michelo Chizombe v Edgar Chagwa Lungu, which he said was decided per incuriam, meaning without proper regard to relevant law.

The commentary follows a case brought by activist Isaac Mwanza, who approached the court seeking a legal interpretation on independent candidates and running mate withdrawal. Chirwa said the ruling had, in effect, put the Constitutional Court itself on trial.

“The Constitutional Court, which has ruled repeatedly that the Constitution is to be read in a manner that promotes the Bill of Rights as provided under Article 267, has effectively killed other fundamental freedoms and rights under Article 19 [freedom of conscience] and Article 21 [freedom of assembly and association] as read with Article 11(b) of Act No. 18 of 1996,” Chirwa said.

He argued that the constitutional provisions in question give a person the right to change their mind and choose who to associate and assemble with, and that requiring a person to remain tied to a previous decision, even when they no longer support it, creates unintended consequences for those freedoms.

“How can a constitution be interpreted to give effect to the Bill of Rights when some freedoms and rights are being unintentionally sacrificed and killed?” Chirwa asked.

He urged the Constitutional Court to revisit its ruling before it creates a broader constitutional crisis, outlining what he described as an unworkable contradiction at the heart of the current position. The court, he said, has simultaneously held that running mates are not candidates while also treating a presidential candidate and running mate as a twinned, paired unit that cannot exist independently of one another.

“How can you have twins who are not twins? How can you have a pair which is not a pair?” he said. “By implication, whether or not the Constitution expressly refers to running mates as candidates, a running mate is a candidate for the election of vice president.”

Chirwa said a resignation from a political party, or a withdrawal from the race, should render a twinned ticket incompetent and its nomination invalid, arguing that forcing a person to remain part of a ticket they no longer wish to be associated with amounts to a denial of their right to freely associate.

“You cannot force one to be part of a ticket and deny him or her the right to associate or assemble. To force a person to run for an election which they don’t want to be a part of, as they may have changed their mind, is unconscionable and flies in the teeth of Article 267,” he said.

He further argued that consistency demands presidential candidates and running mates be treated identically under the law. “You cannot accord a presidential candidate a right to resign or withdraw but deny the same right to their running mate, as that amounts to discrimination and, to some extent, exploitation and forced labour. This position too has to be changed,” Chirwa said.

The warning adds to a growing body of legal commentary questioning the practical workability of the court’s position, with implications that extend beyond the current election cycle into how future presidential tickets are structured and challenged.

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