The role of the Judiciary in the effective resolution of electoral disputes in Zambia

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Date
2011
Authors
Bwalya, Lloyd Kapambwe
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Publisher
University of Zambia
Abstract
The reality of electoral disputes is a characteristic of every competitive democratic process. History has shown that these disputes are caused by various factors and evidently manifest in so many ways within the democratic process. The effects of electoral disputes if not determined efficiently could be fatal both to human life and the economic and social development of a nation. To this effect, there is need to have a system of dispute settlement that can effectively and expediently settle and determine these disputes within the Judicial system of a nation. Although other mechanisms of electoral dispute settlement should be encouraged, the Judiciary of the nation must have oversight and command respect and confidence from stakeholders in the way it handles electoral disputes. This is because other mechanisms such as administrative and political mechanisms of electoral dispute resolution may generally be alleged to be impartial due to their structures and composition. Zambia has had a fair share of electoral disputes since the emergence of competitive politics. There is evidence of a number of presidential election petitions and an even greater number of parliamentary election petitions that have gone before the courts of law. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of the courts in the settlement of these disputes. The Zambian judiciary has been known to delay in the delivery of judgments on electoral disputes. As a result, stakeholders have lost confidence in the courts to resolve electoral disputes. Recent cases of parliamentary petitions have taken as long as four years to be determined for a seat which has tenure of five years. This has raised many questions as to the relevance, impartiality, transparency and independence of the court system in Zambia by both local and international eyes. It has further caused the loss of confidence in the judicial system of the nation by the electorate and other stakeholders. In comparison to neighboring countries like Malawi and Kenya, Zambia‟s judicial system regarding electoral dispute resolution is unsatisfactory. It is for this reason that this paper has recommended that judicial reforms be implemented such as an institution of an Electoral Tribunal which will deal with electoral disputes specifically to expedite their determination. In the alternative, going by the Draft Constitution by the Technical Committee, the Constitutional Court should be mandated to handle such disputes in order to efficiently deliver within time. Further, the paper recommends that these disputes be bound by a predetermined time frame within which they are to be determined. Finally, to restore confidence by the electorates and other stakeholders in the judicial system, there should be a vetting system of judges to investigate those judges whose credibility and/or impartiality has fallen to question. It is hoped that the recommendations resulting from this study will contribute to the enhancement of the efficiency of the judiciary as it endeavors to deliver justice in electoral disputes.
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Student Project Report.
Keywords
Judicial power-Zambia , Election law-Zambia
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