I DEFEATED FRANK TAYALI FAIRLY AND SQUARELY, GEN 20 FORMS TALLY WITH ANNOUNCED RESULTS – EMMANUEL MULENGA TELLS COURT
By Mukwima Chilala
Resolute Party (RP) candidate Emmanuel Mulenga has told the Ndola High Court that the election results announced for Ndola Central Constituency tally with the results recorded on the original GEN 20 forms presented as evidence in the parliamentary election petition filed by UPND candidate Frank Tayali.
Testifying as the respondent’s final witness before High Court Judge Mwamba Chanda on Sunday, Mulenga said 69 of the 74 GEN 20 forms produced by the petitioner were correct documents and that their results were consistent with the figures in his possession and those announced by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
He, however, told the court that he had gone further to produce 73 of the 74 GEN 20 forms covering the constituency’s polling stations, representing approximately 99 percent of the total, with Kansenshi Correctional Service polling station being the only missing form.
Mulenga’s testimony centred on the GEN 20 forms, which record election results at polling stations, as he sought to counter allegations raised in Tayali’s petition, including concerns that prompted the request for a recount.
He also disputed testimony from witnesses who appeared as Tayali’s polling agents and alleged that they had not been given access to the GEN 20 forms.
Mulenga said the forms he had produced showed that UPND agents had signed the documents, a position he relied on to challenge claims that the agents were denied access to the election results records.
The court also undertook site visits to Chibolela and Nkwazi primary schools, as well as the Resolute Party command centre, as part of the proceedings and examination of evidence relating to the petition.
Mulenga further denied allegations that his supporters threw stones at the two polling districts, maintaining that he was not responsible for the violence alleged by Mr Tayali in his petition.
The petition is challenging Mulenga’s election as Ndola Central Member of Parliament following the August 2026 general election.
The court is expected to determine the petition based on the evidence presented by the parties.
Mulenga was the eighteenth witness called by the respondent, while Tayali presented 24 witnesses in support of his petition.
Judge Mwamba has since set 27th November 2026 as Ndola Central election petition judgment day after concluding trial last evening.
The petition challenges Mulenga’s election as Ndola Central Member of Parliament in the August 13, 2026 general election.
According to the declared results, Mulenga of the Resolute Party polled 11,659 votes against Tayali’s 10,840, giving him a majority of 819 votes.