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The Constitutional Court has dismissed the presidential petition filed by UPND President Hakainde Hichilema and his Running Mate Geoffrey Mwamba challenging the declaration of president-elect Edgar Lungu as the winner of the August 11 presidential election.
Three of the five judges held the position that the petition stood dismissed at midnight on Friday.
Delivering the majority position of the court this morning, Judge Annie Sitali said the constitutional court’s mandate to hear the petition ended on Friday, 2nd September, 2016.
Judge Sitali ruled that it is not appropriate for the court to continue hearing the matter outside its mandate which is the stipulated fourteen days.
But Christine Munalula, however did not agree with the position of the other three judges and delivered her own ruling regarding the petition.
She ruled that the constitution must be read and interpreted as a whole document.
The judges who held the position that the petition be dimissed are Annie Sitali,Mungeni Mulenga and Palan Mulonda, while Court president Hildah Chibomba and Judge Margret Munalula were of the position that the petition be heard.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the respondents boycotted this morning’s proceedings.
This because they considered the proceedings illegal as they were being held outside the court’s constitutional jurisdiction.
The Attorney General was the only one present for purposes of informing the court that the lawyers for the respondents will take no further part in the proceedings as the court has no jurisdiction to continue hearing the matter beyond the stipulated 14 days.
The petitioners’ lawyers had who had been reengaged after asking the court to be grated leave to leave the court last Friday had asked for an audience with the court in the chambers before it made its ruling be that their request was turned down by the court.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Likando Kalaluka has told Journalists shortly after the petition was dismissed that the state’s position was that the matter should have been heard within the fourteen days.
Mr. Kalaluka says the mandate of the court to hear the matter ended on 2nd September, 2016 meaning that anything after that was not legally binding.
And UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema declined to talk to journalists after the dismissal of the petition saying he will give his position later.