By Lovemore Lubinda
LUSAKA — Zambia’s fragile post-election calm is under threat after the National Revolution for Progress and Unity Party announced plans to take the disputed August 13 poll results to the Constitutional Court.
Speaking in a video message that spread across social media Monday, senior NRPUP figure Munir Zulu said the party and its Tonse-UPF Pamodzi Alliance partners were moving to legally contest the outcome amid growing unease within their ranks.
Zulu admitted there is confusion inside the opposition camp. He said supporters are on edge because of poor communication from the top, and that the leadership is now scrambling to respond. According to him, the only path left is the courts.
He pushed back on critics who say a legal challenge will go nowhere. For Zulu, the courtroom is not about winning alone, it is about forcing the truth into the open for both Zambians and the international community to see.
The NRPUP official urged alliance members not to take to the streets. He warned them to remain calm and lawful, saying any unrest would only give authorities reason to crack down. The goal, he argued, is to expose what happened on election day through legal process, not violence.
Zulu cast the planned petition as bigger than politics. He described it as a fight for fundamental freedoms in Zambia, and condemned outbreaks of violence reported in parts of the country. He insisted the alliance would seek power only through votes, not force.
He ended the address by telling supporters the leadership is working nonstop behind closed doors to ensure justice is done, and asked them to hold the line while plans are finalized.
The move now puts Zambia’s highest court on a collision course with a heated political dispute, and could deepen uncertainty over the legitimacy of the August 13 results.
