PF vows no elections in 2026 without Lungu on ballot

The Edgar Lungu-led Patriotic Front (PF) has warned that there would be no general elections in 2026 if their candidate was not on the ballot paper.

With party cadres chanting the “No Edgar No Elections” slogan in Lusaka on Tuesday, faction Secretary-General, Raphael Nakacinda, said this message should be put across to President Hakainde Hichilema.

Addressing cadres who gathered at the party secretariat after the Constitutional Court rejected pleas to dismiss petition against Lungu’s eligibility for 2026 polls, Nakacinda also announced that the party would embark on a Black Friday campaign against the current economic conditions.

“We are starting every Friday to wear black t-shirts as we embark on Black Friday against these bad economic conditions under President Hichilema’s administration,” he stated.

Nakacinda said the current state of Zambia’s economy was dire, with no solutions forthcoming from the governing party, the United Party for National Development (UPND).

“We want to tell the courts and President Hakainde Hichilema that if Edgar Lungu is not on the ballot, there will be no elections in 2026 and we are embarking on Black Friday against this bad economy,” he reiterated.

Read More: Just In: Constitutional Court says ex-President Lungu’s eligibility for election should proceed to trial (video)

The Constitutional Court had rejected a motion filed by former President Lungu seeking to dismiss a petition challenging his eligibility to contest future elections.

Lungu argued that this petition, the fifth of its kind, was an abuse of the court process, claiming his eligibility had already been adjudicated and was now barred by statute.

However, Lusaka businessman, Michelo Chizombe, the petitioner, maintained that the issue of Lungu’s eligibility had not been conclusively resolved.

In a ruling delivered Tuesday by Justice Mudford Mwandenga, the 11-member bench of the Constitutional Court declined to dismiss the case at the preliminary stage.

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