Maravi

Chipata MMD cadres trek for Rupiah’s inauguration in Lusaka

Chipata MMD cadres trek for Rupiah’s inauguration in Lusaka
Written by Christopher Miti in Chipata
Monday, November 03, 2008 7:02:18 AM

MOST MMD cadres in Chipata on Saturday trekked to Lusaka to witness Vice-President Rupiah Banda’s swearing-in ceremony as Zambia’s fourth Republican President.

And some Patriotic Front (PF) cadres in the district threatened to tear their voters’ cards because their president had lost.

The MMD cadres started preparing to travel when their candidate Vice-President Banda narrowed the gap on PF’s Michael Sata’s lead on Saturday.

One of the cadres, who declined to be named, said most cadres did not expect their candidate to win.

“As you know, these elections were tight so when our candidate was leading, we were sure that the best was yet to come. Although our party has won, but we also respect these other political parties that participated in these elections but as Zambians we should remain united as usual,” he said.

The cadre said most of his colleagues had travelled to Lusaka at their own expense to witness the inauguration ceremony.

After the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) announced the election results on Saturday evening, placing Vice-President Banda in the lead, most MMD supporters in Chipata started singing and chanting party slogans.

At Kapata market, some marketeers were engaged in a serious debate over the elections.

And one PF supporter, who was found at BP filling station, said he would tear his voters’ card following his president’s loss.

“I will never ever vote in any election in Zambia because some of us our votes were not included,” he said.

In Nabvutika compound, some MMD supporters on Saturday night piled some tree branches at the shop of a PF supporter, an indication [to them] that there was a funeral in PF because of its loss in the elections.

The general atmosphere in Chipata was calm.

Labels: CADRES, CHIPATA, MMD, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 7:03 AM