Claim
On Wednesday, August 24 2022, Patriotic Front Information and Publicity chairperson Raphael Nakachinda alleged that the decision by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) not to accept nominations from Mr. Bowman Lusambo and Mr. Joseph Malanji for the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections is an inside job of the UPND in their continued attempt to block and stop the two former PF Members of Parliament from contesting in the by-elections. Mr. Nakachinda claimed that the move by the UPND Government to remove former ECZ CEO, Mr. Patrick Nshindano was a clear manifestation of the UPND to compromise the operations of the Commission. The statement by Mr. Nakachinda came ahead of the expected nominations for Kabushi and Kwacha Constituency Parliamentary seats that fell vacant after they were nullified by the High Court, and upheld by the Constitutional Court of Zambia.
Rating Justification
iVerify Zambia’s fact-finding process has determined as misleading the claim by Patriotic Front Information and Publicity chairman, Raphael Nakachinda that the position by the Electoral Commission of Zambia not to accept nominations from Mr.Bowman Lusambo and Mr.Joseph Malanji for the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections is an inside job of the UPND in their continued attempt to block and stop the two former PF Members of Parliament from contesting in the by-elections. To establish the facts, iVerify Zambia examined various legal frameworks that guide the operations of the Commission and established that The Electoral Commission of Zambia acts as an independent and autonomous Electoral Management Body (EMB) that is governed and regulated by the following pieces of legislation namely; The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act, No. 2 of 2016, The Electoral Process Act No.35 2016 (This Act also contains the Electoral Code of Conduct; The Electoral Commission of Zambia Amendment Act No.5 of 2019, and Referendum Act No.5 of 2015. In a statement obtained by iVerify, the Electoral Commission of Zambia said its decision not to accept the nominations from Mr. Lusambo and Mr. Malanji was premised on Article 72 (4) of the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Act, No. 2 of 2016 contrary to claims that it is an inside job by the UPND to block Mr. Lusambo and Mr. Malanji.
