Maravi

Acrimony mars Ndola Central voter verification exercise

Acrimony mars Ndola Central voter verification exercise
Written by Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Saturday, November 08, 2008 6:24:37 AM

THERE was a near punch-up between MMD and PF cadres on Thursday during the Ndola Central parliamentary by-election verification exercise at the civic centre after the two parties differed on figures.

The differences started when losing MMD candidate Mary Zambezi claimed that the results she had and the ones that the presiding officer Roy Kuseka announced were different and that all the results were therefore not correct.

The statement annoyed MMD cadres who then started exchanging abusive language with PF cadres and nearly exchanged punches.

Zambezi charged that all the polling assistants and presiding officers were corrupt and that PF had paid them to steal her votes.

"From what I have seen in this verification exercise, my votes were stolen and this gives me an opportunity to go and file in a petition for a recount because this is an indication that everything is not correct. There is no way in one polling station I had 259 but they recorded that I got 15," she said. "And in most of the polling stations everything is not tallying; all the figures are not adding up together. I am going ahead to request for a recount."

Zambezi alleged that PF members were thieves who were fond of stealing and cooking up figures.

"My observers gave me correct figures. And this is how I knew that PF had again stolen my votes. If the figures were tallying, I was not going to accuse them. What was in the polling stations and what was reported at the civic centre is not correct. The compiled report is something else. ECZ employed corrupt people," Zambezi charged.

But some MMD members, who accompanied Zambezi to the civic centre, said in a separate interview that they were tired of going to court.

"We are tired of that woman and her court. If she goes to court she would have to go alone. We are no longer interested in these court cases. She lost and she should just accept," they said.

In the poll, Zambezi got 7,563 against Mark Mushili's 10,720 votes.

And Ndola town clerk Charity Mpande said Zambezi was free to go to court.

She said it was unfortunate that Zambezi had refused to accept the results that were given on the poll day and at the verification exercise.

"On the poll day, Zambezi refused the results and today you have clearly seen that she has refused to acknowledge the results which is unfortunate," said Mpande. "Yes we had a few errors but these are human errors that anyone can make. In one of the polling stations we had an error with MMD votes and they were four points. But that was cleared. Well apart from the Ndola Central, everything in other constituencies went on well."

Labels: ELECTIONS

posted by MrK @ 6:26 AM