Zambian lawmakers were to begin debate on Tuesday on a controversial motion to impeach President Levy Mwanawasa for violating the Constitution by appointing a vice president they say is unqualified.
Fifty-three disgruntled lawmakers have signed a petition calling for Mwanawasa’s impeachment, citing a constitutional stipulation that a person must have served as a member of Parliament before being appointed vice president.
The Constitution also bars a person from holding the second highest office in the land if they lost in a general election.
Mwanawasa appointed opposition leader Nevers Mumba vice president in May, even though Mumba has never been a lawmaker and lost in the December 2001 presidential vote won by Mwanawasa.
”We intend to table the motion today because we have already fulfilled the required 53 signatures for such a motion to be allowed in the house,” said Sakwiba Sikota, a lawmaker for the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND).
Mumba’s appointment to replace the sacked incumbent vice president, Enoch Kavindele, caused a political storm here.
The opposition Forum for Development and Democracy (FFD) immediately mounted a court challenge, to be heard in October, arguing that the appointment was unconstitutional.
A legal analyst said the impeachment motion would be blocked by the speaker of Parliament because of that impending court challenge.
”The members of Parliament will have to wait for a court ruling before they can table the impeachment motion. At the moment, it is premature,” said Eric Silwamba, a prominent Zambian lawyer. – Sapa-AFP