EFF President Kasonde Mwenda has applied to the High Court for leave to commence judicial review proceedings against the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) over its alleged failure to allow him to preprocess presidential nomination supporters.
According to court documents, Mr. Mwenda paid the required K100,000 nomination fee and was allocated May 13, 2026 for preprocessing.
However, he was unable to attend after being detained by police and transferred to Chinsali District in Muchinga Province in connection with a cyber-related offence.
Mr. Mwenda states that while in custody, he formally notified ECZ of his inability to attend on the allocated date and requested an alternative date within the running programme.
He alleges that ECZ received the communication but did not respond.
The EFF leader further claims that upon his release on May 15, he visited ECZ offices on May 16 and was informed that some candidates who missed their allocated dates had been accommodated on the final day of the programme.
He argues that ECZ’s alleged failure to consider his request amounts to procedural unfairness, unequal treatment and a breach of his legitimate expectation to be treated fairly and consistently.
Mr. Mwenda is now seeking urgent leave for judicial review, contending that unless the court intervenes, he risks being excluded from the presidential nomination process whose deadline is today May 22, 2026.
By Josphat Hamakala
