Zambia opposition seeks to impeach president

Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambia’s main opposition party has filed a motion to impeach President Edgar Lungu for violating the constitution, the presidency said Friday, in the latest development following a disputed 2016 election.

The impeachment motion will be put before parliament on March 28 by the United Party for National Development (UPND).

Although it could win support from some members of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), such as former minister Chishimba Kambwili, a leading Lungu critic who was arrested on Thursday, it looked set to be easily defeated.

For an impeachment motion to succeed, the constitution requires a two-thirds majority in parliament.

The UPND has 58 of the 167 lawmakers.

“They do not have the numbers and the motion will not go anywhere,” Lungu’s spokesman Amos Chanda told AFP.

The alleged constitutional violations relate to a legal battle by the UPND over the 2016 election result, as well as corruption and mismanagement allegations raised against Lungu.

UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has rejected the results of the election, which he narrowly lost, and refuses to recognise Lungu as the president.

Kambwili was arrested in Lusaka on Thursday over allegations of making profits from criminal activity.