MMD JOIN PETITION TO DE-REGISTER PARTIES THAT HAVE NOT HELD CONVENTIONS
The Opposition New Hope Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) has been joined to a petition where Legal advocate Benjamin Mwelwa wants the Constitutional Court to order for the deregistration of all Political Parties that have not practiced democratic tenents since 2016.
The New Hope MMD through its National Secretary Elizabeth Chitika had applied to the Constitution Court to join the matter, stating that it was likely to be affected by the outcome of the Petition.
Justice Mungeni Mulenga granted the Application, stating that the MMD has sufficient interest in the matter.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) did not object to the joinder application.
“Having read the summons, affidavit in support, the skeleton arguments and counsel for the intended third interested party and there being no objections to the application, I hereby grant the application and join the intended third interested party to the proceedings”, read the ruling in Party.
In this matter, Mr. Mwelwa is seeking an order to direct the Registrar of Societies to deregister all political parties that have not held party elections since 2016.
He is also seeking a declaration that any political party which has been in existence as of January 5, 2016, and which has not practiced democracy through regular, free, and fair elections, should cease to exist in Zambia on January 4, 2017.
He insists that such a Party has breaches article 60 (2) (d) of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act number two of 2016.
Mr. Mwelwa has cited Attorney General Likando Kalaluka and the ECZ as respondents in the petition.
The New Hope MMD was supposed to have a Convention in 2017 but a group of suspended and expelled members organized an illegal Convention in 2016 where Felix Mutati emerged as Party President. On the 5th of November, 2019, the Courts ruled that the 2016 MMD Convention was illegal and all the decisions made between then and the 5th of November 2019 was null and void. And that Dr. Nevers Sekwila Mumba was the legitimate and only leader of the MMD.