Update: Emelda Munashabantu takes Mapatizya seat fight to the Constitutional Court and returns to Parliament

Update: Earlier coverage reported that the High Court voided the Mapatizya election and that no appeal had been announced. New since then: Ms Munashabantu has appealed to the Constitutional Court on four grounds and has resumed her parliamentary duties. UPND's Emelda Munashabantu has taken her fight for the Mapatizya parliamentary seat to the Constitutional Court, appealing against the High Court judgment that nullified her election. She has resumed her duties in Parliament and will keep serving until the court rules. Judge Kazimbe Chenda, sitting at the Livingstone High Court, voided the result on 29 October in a petition by independent candidate Clive Miyanda. Ms Munashabantu had been declared the winner with 14,812 votes against Mr Miyanda's 14,330. Her lawyers, Hibajene Mulunda Advocates, have filed four grounds of appeal: 1. A presiding officer has no authority to declare results and announce a winner before all polling stations in the constituency are accounted for. 2. The court's figure of 6,238 votes from ten missing polling stations was established without supporting evidence. 3. Procedural irregularities by the ECZ, the second respondent, did not meet the threshold for nullifying an election under Sections 97(2)(b) and 97(4) of the Electoral Process Act of 2016. 4. Nullification was not justified because all parties agreed to go ahead with the declaration despite the missing results. ## Background In its judgment the High Court dismissed the misconduct claim, finding that none had been proven against Ms Munashabantu. It found no major irregularity before or on polling day, but held that the steps after voting did not substantially follow the electoral laws and were serious enough to affect the outcome. The ECZ was ordered to pay Mr Miyanda's costs. The court had heard that violence broke out at the Kabanga Secondary School totalling centre after polling, so counting moved to Zimba Secondary School. Some ballot boxes fell from a convoy during the mov