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Banda is scared of being challenged at the convention, says Mpombo

Banda is scared of being challenged at the convention, says Mpombo
Written by Patson Chilemba
Sunday, September 06, 2009 7:09:13 PM

RUPIAH Banda is scared stiff of being challenged at the MMD convention, former defence minister George Mpombo has charged. In an interview on Friday, Mpombo, who is also Kafulafuta MMD member of parliament, said the resolutions from provincial MMD committees to postpone the convention were being stage-managed by senior national executive committee (NEC) officials.

He said the officials were doing so for their own selfish reasons such as protecting their jobs or seeking to be appointed to government positions by the President. Mpombo said it was only the national convention which had the power to elect a presidential candidate in the MMD.

"He [President Banda] is stiff scared about being challenged. But if he can fear to be challenged or lose at a party level, what more to the national level? So the whole thing is just being orchestrated by NEC here in Lusaka, by NEC officials. They are doing it for their own selfish reasons," he said.

Mpombo said the MMD members had a right to hold the convention, even to seek legal redress should the convention be postponed.

"The bottom line is the President, Mr Rupiah Banda and his colleagues will not be allowed to manipulate the [party] constitution... right now they are pouring in money into provinces," Mpombo said. "So we will not allow that. We are a democratic party. We will not succumb to cheap tactics, no. We must go to the convention."

Mpombo warned that should President Banda and his colleagues insist on their undemocratic line, another faction in the MMD would be formed.

He said should such a process be frustrated, those with democratic minds would go to court.

"Then we will have one faction. We will do it as UNIP did it sometime back when they had two conferences. So we will allow the other faction of Mr Rupiah to go with the UNIP mentality of having no elections, and then there will be another faction that is going to hold democratic elections," Mpombo said. "It is just sounding a warning that MMD is founded on the principles of democracy, and we know Mr Banda is coming from a background where there was no democratic election and things like that. But we can't allow him to import, to bring these ideas to destroy the party."

Mpombo said the message should be clear that President Banda was not the candidate to contest the 2011 general elections on the MMD ticket.

He said it was only the national convention that would decide on the matter.

"Mr Banda is not a candidate in MMD at the moment because the national council [national convention] has not sat down. So what Mr Banda and his colleagues are doing is an exercise in futility," said Mpombo.

Recently, MMD national chairman Michael Mabenga said the resolution by provincial committees to postpone the national convention would be tabled before NEC.

Several provincial committees in the country have called on the MMD NEC to postpone the party convention in view of the global economic meltdown and to float President Banda as the party’s candidate in the 2011 polls.

The calls came in the wake of a recent decision by the NEC to adopt President Banda as the sole candidate of the party for the next elections.

Labels: GEORGE MPOMBO, MMD, NEC, PRESIDENCY, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 6:11 PM