Brian MUNDUBILE Has the RIGHT to say he is LEADING - Kasonde Mweenda

Duration: 1:55 298 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

Brian Mweenda has firmly asserted his right to claim leadership based on data released by election officials, addressing recent accusations of harassment and intimidation leveled against him. He commends the CEO for a previous statement confirming that results announced at polling stations are legitimate and can be freely shared without fear of legal repercussions. According to Mweenda, this official endorsement means that Zambians should not feel they are committing crimes when disseminating information provided by returning officers, effectively framing such sharing as an exercise of their constitutional rights rather than illegal activity. The core argument presented is a clear distinction between assessing one's electoral position and declaring the final winner, which remains the exclusive preserve of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). Mweenda explains that his party captures data from polling centers to compute statistics showing they are in a "pole position," but he explicitly states this does not equate to claiming victory before all results are officially collated. He emphasizes that while opponents have consequences for their actions, criminalizing the analysis of legally available information is unjust and paints an inaccurate picture where none exists within the ambit of the law. Furthermore, Mweenda rejects innuendos suggesting his team has engaged in illegality to position themselves as frontrunners, arguing instead that they are simply utilizing numbers provided by the ECZ itself. He points out a logical contradiction: if the commission declares these results legitimate for public sharing, then using them to calculate standing is inherently lawful and not subject to criminal charges. His stance serves as both a defense against current harassment claims and an appeal to respect the legal boundaries that allow citizens to analyze election data without fear of prosecution or false accusations of undermining electoral integrity.

Read the full video transcript

We have received a lot of harassments. With all due respect, and I must commend the CEO, that he made a very important announcement in the previous address when he talked to us saying those results that are announced at the polling station are legitimate. They can be shared. I think those are his actual words. I beg to be corrected. But he said those that are declared by the returning officer are legitimate. They can be relied on and they can be shared. And Zambians should not feel like they're committing a crime when they share that information. Guided by the CEO that that is legitimate. That then means that of course it is a preserve of the ECZ to make a declaration of the winner. But it is no offense for you to make an announcement of how you have performed. Based on the information that has been legally made available to you as legitimate by the ECZ. And it is that information that is coming from the ECZ at polling centers that we are capturing for our PVT, which is our constitutional right. So we would not be comfortable with innuendos of intimidation painting it like we have done an illegality for us to make assessment and position ourselves, for instance, as having a strong foot in winning this election. It is not a crime. You are the one giving us the numbers. And trust me we have the capability to compute those and be able to assess, not to declare that we have won, but to tell our position that with the numbers you're giving us, we are in pole position. We are not saying you have no consequence. You have consequence, but don't criminalize even what is in the ambit of the law.