Politics
Zambia: Opposition party seeks to impeach President Lungu
(Reuters) – Zambia’s main opposition party filed a motion on Thursday seeking the impeachment of President Edgar Lungu, accusing him of constitutional breaches, the presidency said on Friday.
The motion by the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) got signatures from a 3rd of the members of parliament in the 166-member house. It would need the backing of two-thirds of the lawmakers to succeed.
“This is just a continuation of the UPND’s failed court challenge of President Edgar Lungu’s election victory,” presidential spokesman Amos Chanda told reporters. “It is not going anywhere.
“The UPND knows that the charges are defective and the motion cannot succeed but still brought it because they are not interested in the political dialog,” he said.
The notice says Lungu abrogated the constitution by not handing over power to the speaker of the national assembly when the opposition challenged his victory in court in 2016.
The document filed and circulated by UPND indicates that the motion would be debated next week on March 28.