Electoral expert McDonald Chipenzi has challenged President Edgar Lungu to disband the commission of inquiry on electoral violence and voting patterns because its mandate has expired.
Mr. Chipenzi observes that according to Statutory Instrument No. 72 of 2016, the Commission of Inquiry has a lifespan of 120 days which has since expired.
“It will be illegal and against the dictates of the Statutory Instrument for the Commission of Inquiry and its commissioners to exist beyond the stipulated timeframe in the Instrument.” said Mr. Chipenzi.
Mr. Chipenzi further challenged President Lungu to tell the nation whether he has issued another Statutory Instrument to extend the life of the Commission of Inquiry and at what cost to the country.
He added that credibility of the findings and the entire report will be rendered illegal, questionable and an academic exercise in the public court.
Meanwhile, People’s Party president Mike Mulongoti said if the results of the inquiry are to be trusted, the inquiry should go beyond 2006.
“The commission is seen to be targeting a certain group of people, that is unacceptable, violence has always been there but why start from 2006,” Mr. Mulongoti added.
And Mr. Chipenzi has since cautioned the president to use the money meant for the commission of inquiry on needy areas such as uplifting the lives of persons with disability and also stocking hospitals and health centers with necessary drugs and essentials.
President Edgar Lungu recently appointed a fifteen member commission of inquiry into the causes of electoral violence and voting patterns that characterized the 2016 general elections.