Opposition leader Brian Mundubile has accused the Zambian government of working to derail his planned Constitutional Court challenge to Hichilema’s re-election, with the seven-day filing window closing Monday, August 24.
A Tight Legal Deadline
The Electoral Commission of Zambia declared Hichilema winner of the August 13 vote on August 18, with 2,965,326 votes (60.49%) against 1,856,217 (37.87%) for Mundubile. Under Article 103 of the Constitution, a presidential election petition must be filed within seven days of the declaration, after which the Constitutional Court has 14 days to determine it. Mundubile has rejected the result, saying his campaign documented serious irregularities in the counting, transmission and declaration of results, and has separately alleged that soldiers entered some totalling centres during the count.
Mundubile’s team alleges the state has moved to disrupt preparations for the petition through the arrest of lawyers and officials involved in assembling the case, and points to a heightened security presence around the Constitutional Court as the deadline approaches. Neither claim has been independently confirmed, and government has not responded to them directly.
A Divided Opposition Front
State House maintains that Mundubile remains free to pursue his challenge through the courts. The petition effort has also exposed strain within Mundubile’s own alliance: Zumani Zimba, Secretary General of the Tonse Alliance, has publicly distanced himself from the court challenge, warning it risks deepening division rather than resolving it, while NRPUP president Ezra Tembo has separately accepted Hichilema’s victory outright. Commentators have described the rift as a significant internal split, with some suggesting Zimba’s withdrawal may reflect concerns about what a full legal proceeding could expose.
Sources: Lusaka Times, The Zambian Observer, CAJ News Africa
