President Hichilema is just finishing the late Anderson Mazoka’s term, he is going to start his own term in 2031-Micheal Chuzu ,  UPND Official

A spirited national debate has erupted across political and legal circles in Zambia following controversial remarks by senior United Party for National Development (UPND) official Michael Chuzu regarding the presidential tenure of Hakainde Hichilema. Appearing on a prominent television current affairs program, Chuzu asserted that President Hichilema's time in office should not be counted toward the constitutional two-term limit until 2031, bizarrely arguing that his current governance is a continuation of the unfinished tenure of the party's founding president, the late Anderson Mazoka. The comments have immediately drawn sharp pushback from civil society, legal commentators, and opposition politicians alike. Legal analysts and critics were quick to dismantle the assertion, pointing out the fundamental flaw in conflating internal party leadership with the republican presidency. Anderson Mazoka, who founded the UPND in 1998 and led it until his untimely death in 2006, never held the office of President of the Republic of Zambia. Under Article 106 of the Zambian Constitution, the presidential term limit strictly applies to individuals who have twice held office as Head of State. Consequently, constitutional experts emphasize that any attempt to maneuver around these explicit legal boundaries through imaginative party interpretations holds no water in republican jurisprudence. The remarks have also re-energized discussions surrounding political succession and the democratic health of the nation. Opposition figures have seized upon Chuzu's statements as evidence of underlying ambitions within ruling circles to test the waters for potential term-limit extensions or rule manipulation, drawing parallels to past political eras. Critics argue that such rhetoric undermines institutional safeguards and distracts from pressing socio-economic challenges currently facing ordinary Zambians, including cost-of-living pressures and economic restructuring. Within the ruling party,