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The Citizens First (CF) party has filed a lawsuit against the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) in the High Court, demanding the setting of a new date for nominations with a properly gazetted timetable for the Pambashe Constituency by-election.
The CF seeks a declaration that the ECZ’s decision to invalidate the nomination papers of their candidate, Ezekiel Kayumba, was unfair, illegal, and null and void, arguing that the timetable followed was irregular.
In the petition, Kayumba expressed shock over the invalidation of his nomination, claiming that he was unable to provide a valid Voters Card within the allotted time, despite submitting a duly certified copy of his 2021 Voters Card and all other required documents.
Kayumba contended that he was not informed of a clear cutoff time for submitting his nomination.
He noted that the amended timetable indicated a start time of 14:50 hours, but this was not accurately reflected, as the UPND team left the nomination center at 15:36 hours, and Kayumba only entered around 15:40 hours.
The CF argued that the ECZ failed to publish both the original and amended timetables in the government gazette as required by Sections 28(1)(b) and 28(2) of the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016.
The party contended that in the absence of a gazetted timetable, the ECZ could not arbitrarily decide the cutoff time for submitting nominations.
The CF also pointed out that the ECZ allowed the UPND team to correct their failure to provide all necessary supporters’ signatures, even after their designated time had expired, calling the ECZ’s actions unfair and inconsistent.
During the Pambashe Constituency by-election nominations on January 7, 2025, Kayumba’s nomination papers were invalidated by the ECZ due to his inability to present a valid Voters Card.
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The CF petition included a statement from the ECZ Returning Officer, who declared, “Mr. Ezekiel Kayumba has not successfully lodged his nomination. His nomination paper is invalid because he did not produce a valid Voters Card. Even after the extended time to find a valid card, it did not come in time, so the nomination paper is declared invalid. Thank you.”
The Pambashe Parliamentary seat became vacant after Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament Ronald Chitotela was convicted for arson in July 2024 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on December 17, 2024.
Following his conviction, Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti declared the seat vacant.
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