LPM disputes lawfulness of extended elections

 

By: Ellen Shihepo

In today’s Supreme Court session in the case of IPC versus ECN, LPM’s legal representative said the defendants’ lawyers failed to prove where the constitution grants the president the power to extend voting.

This comes after President Nangolo Mbumba was challenged by opposition parties led by IPC for extending the November 27th presidential and national assembly elections by three extra days due to challenges such as insufficient ballots and long lines.

LPM’s lawyer, advocate Kameel Pemhir says the unlawfulness is coupled with the fact that extension can constitutionally be proclaimed during or before election day and only by ECN presiding officers if needed.

Pemhir said the unlawfulness began with the breach of proclamation 26 of September 2024 proclamation 28 which states that elections are slated for 27 November 2024 from 7am to 9pm.

Advocate Pemhir said there is no source of authority that grants anyone other than the ECN presiding offers rights to make changes and the fact that it was done a day after voting has ended further leads to unlawful discourse of the entire outcome.

“Even if we assume in favour of the respondents that they can change the electoral timetable or extend the election and do whatever they want to do, that must happen before polling opens. Its worse for the respondents because the actual day comes and goes, and some high-minded officials decide to extend the elections a whole day after the polling comes and goes. Statutory non-compliance of that kind is unlawful.” Pemhir said.

He said the electoral act rules in Article 32 point one does not cater to the challenges faced by the electoral commission on the November 27, tainting the course of events after the 27th.

LPM’s advocate said a national election under the constitution must be done the same across the country otherwise it’s a mockery of universal suffrage and encourages unlawfulness moving forward.

He added that the “no difference in the outcome of election results” arguments used by the defendants’ lawyers invite a continuity of the unlawfulness.
The case of IPC and other opposition parties versus the ECN is still ongoing in the Supreme Court.

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