PF cancels convention

PF cancels convention
By Patson Chilemba
Friday August 22, 2008 [04:00]

THE Patriotic Front (PF) leadership has cancelled the party's convention that was slated for September this year in order to concentrate on the presidential by-election. But PF presidential aspirant Saviour Chishimba said party leader Michael Sata was a wrong person to assume the Republican presidency and that cancelling the convention will only propel his Sata dictatorship.

PF secretary general Edward Mumbi said the convention had been cancelled in order to focus on the forthcoming presidential by-election.
"I have taken the vacancy of the Republican presidency as priority number one to be addressed by the party," Mumbi said. "We are contesting the Republican presidency. Therefore, the party convention will only come after we have participated in the presidential by-elections."

Mumbi said in the event that Sata became Republican president, he would be allowed to contest the party presidency if he so wished.
He said resources that were supposed to be spent on the convention would now be channelled towards the presidential campaigns.

Asked if party members had been informed of the development, Mumbi responded: "My position is that every Zambian knows that we have lost the Republican President and you cannot be a member of the party if you don't understand the country's Constitution."
Mumbi said Sata already had the people's mandate to contest the presidency.

Mumbi said party members were not ready to challenge Sata because they had not applied to do so.

But Chishimba, who is also Kasama-Central PF member of parliament, said the cancellation pointed to Sata's autocratic rule in the party.

He said there was still enough time to hold the party’s convention.
Chishimba said he would campaign to ensure that PF went for a convention before the presidential by-election because Sata was a wrong person to assume the Republican presidency.

He said Sata should not be allowed to contest the by-election before he faced any challenge within the party.

He said he and some other PF parliamentarians participating in the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) would de-campaign Sata during the presidential by-elections.

"We are getting to the grassroots. Zambia will see a campaign never seen before in this country. The truth will come out," Chishimba said.
He said there was need for a forensic audit into Sata's life to show Zambians the kind of person he was.

Chishimba said he would personally pray against Sata so that he does not assume the presidency

Asked if he only discovered the ills in Sata recently, Chishimba said he realised Sata's dictatorship two weeks before the 2006 general elections.

But Sata said the 'rebel' members of parliament would not de-campaign him because they had no influence on the ground.
He said those intending to de-campaign PF would only confirm their status as 'rebels'.

"We don't want to take 100 per cent votes. We want to get majority votes," he said.

Sata said Zambians know him already unlike the MMD who were yet to decide on the presidential candidate.

He said PF had been vindicated by its continous campaigns.
Asked if his heart problem would not affect his campaigns, Sata said he had finished treatment and was ready for nationwide campaigns.
"I used to smoke which is no longer the case.

My arteries were blocked on account of smoking. And there is no heart attack, which is cured in 20 minutes. I'm walking and fit," said Sata.