The Constitutional Court this afternoon threw out all four (4) applications by the UPND in which they were seeking among other things that concluding trial in the main petition by midnight would not be a trial and will violate Article 18 (9).
The Constitutional Court also dismissed an application by the UPND in which they wanted the court to compel the Electoral Commission of Zambia and ZMBC to produce documents and news bulletins respectively which related to the allegations in the main petition for lack of merit.
The Constitutional Court comprising of president Hildah Chibomba, Mungeni Mulenga, Margaret Munalula, Anne Sitali and Palan Mulonda went on to dismiss UPND’S application in which they wanted judge Anne Sitali to recuse herself from hearing its renewed application before the bench because she earlier heard the matter as a single judge.
In dismissing the application on judge Sitali, the court said she could hear the renewed application because it was not an appeal, adding that she heard the earlier application as a single judge.
This is in a matter in which Hakainde Hichilema is challenging the validity of the reelection of Edgar Lungu.