Zambian court bars ex-President Lungu from seeking re-election after serving two terms

Zambia’s constitutional court has barred former President Edgar Lungu from seeking re-election in 2026.

In a decision on Tuesday, Mudford Mwandenga, the presiding judge, ruled that Lungu had already served the maximum two terms allowed by law.

The 68-year-old was first elected president in January 2015 to serve the remaining 20 months of his predecessor’s term, who died in office.

Lungu subsequently was re-elected as president to serve a second term.

The former president argued that his first years in office should not count as he did not serve a full five-year term.

But the court disagreed—reversing previous rulings that had cleared him to run three years ago when he lost to Hakainde Hichilema.

Mwandenga said no court can overturn the decision of the constitutional court, noting that it is only the court itself where it feels the previous decision was wrong.

In a statement issued after the judgment, Lungu said he accepted the verdict but would set alternative plans in motion.

“This is because this verdict transcends the fate of Edgar Chagwa Lungu. It speaks to the erosion of judicial independence, the weakening of our democratic foundations, and the weaponisation of our institutions for short-term gain,” he said.

“But, my fellow countrymen and women, know this: from this blatant manipulation and disenfranchisement, a new resolve is born.

“Democracy, my fellow citizens, is not merely a system of governance but the lifeblood of our national identity.

“And therefore today, I declare that Plan B has been set in motion, and Plan B shall legally fight to defeat and win for Zambians. Trust me, I, in the spirit of democracy, and Zambians shall win in and with Plan B!”