Maravi

HH explains PF-UPND victory in Solwezi

HH explains PF-UPND victory in Solwezi
By Mutuna Chanda, Brighton Phiri and Patson Chilemba
Sat 21 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT

UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has declared that the PF-UPND pact’s Solwezi Central parliamentary by-election victory is an indication that MMD is exiting in 2011 because Zambians are tired of their corruption and failures.

And Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata has said the defeat of MMD should send a clear message to President Rupiah Banda and his MMD colleagues that people have rejected them and they should therefore start packing their bags.

Meanwhile, MMD’s campaign manager for the Solwezi Central seat Kabinga Pande yesterday conceded defeat. This follows UPND-PF pact candidate Watson Lumba’s win in the Solwezi Central parliamentary by-election with 5,669 votes while MMD’s Albert Chifita polled 4,457.

At the tail end were Forum for Democratic Alternatives (FDA) candidate Muhammed Kalela with 189 votes and independent candidate Thomas Kafula with 51 votes.

Addressing an impromptu thanksgiving rally yesterday at Solwezi showgrounds for Solwezi Central voters for handing victory to Lumba, Hichilema attributed the win to - among others - MMD structures which he said helped the UPND-PF pact carry the day.

“This election we have won against the government, we have won against Rupiah Banda, we have won against George Kunda, we have won against (information deputy minister Elijah) Muchima, we have won against (foreign affairs minister Kabinga) Pande, we have won against the police; the battle was not easy,” Hichilema said.

“Society wants change because they are sick and tired of the corrupt, non-visionary MMD.”

Hichilema thanked MMD structures for helping UPND-PF pact ensure victory. He said the pact used the structures of MMD to win the Solwezi Central seat.

He also thanked elder councils of various tribes in North Western Province for supporting the UPND-PF pact.

Hichilema urged Lumba to provide the servant leadership he had pledged to adopt in his tenure as member of parliament.

He challenged him to get to the people in Solwezi Central constituency and address their problems.

And UPND vice-president Richard Kapita said that if MMD were clever, they would stop fooling Zambians by trying to woo them with salt, sugar, soap and cooking oil, among other items.

He said the people of Solwezi Central taught the MMD a good lesson by handing them defeat.

Lumba in an interview shortly after he was declared winner around 01:40 hours said he won the seat because of the impact of the PF-UPND pact.

“I do not know what to say. I am happy. I won, not because I’m popular, but because of the impact of the pact and the wind of change blowing,” said Lumba. “I thank my president for having had confidence in adopting me as the sole candidate for Solwezi Central, and as such, I will make good representation.”

Lumba also congratulated Chifita for the efforts he put in the campaign race saying that he (Chifita) was welcome to stay in Solwezi.

“I congratulate Chifita for the efforts he put in during the race. If Chifita loves Solwezi, I will invite him to stay in Solwezi,” he said.

And Pande said MMD had accepted the outcome of the result but observed that the electoral laws should be reviewed to address issues such as violence and malpractices that threatened the development of Zambia’s democratic processes.

Solwezi broke into wild celebrations from around 22:00 hours on Thursday night when exit polls indicated that Lumba was headed for victory.

However, tense moments characterised the final two hours before the official results were announced at the Electoral Commission of Zambia results centre housed at the Solwezi Municipal Council as UPND-PF pact members expressed concern over the delay in announcing one polling station which had 209 registered voters.

With 29 polling stations counted, there was an almost two hours delay in recording the results of the last polling station called Kandakanda leading to flaring of tempers in the results centre.

Sporadic comments from among pact members warned against manipulation of the vote though Lumba had an unassailable lead even if it meant that Chifita had gotten all the 209 votes.

Electoral officials explained that the road from the polling station was bad and that ballot papers could not arrive on time.

However, during that time, celebrations had already begun and around 01:40 hours, Solwezi Central constituency returning officer Elizabeth Kanoka declared Lumba as duly elected member of parliament.

And UPND-PF pact candidate Patrick Mwimbila scooped the Nyakuleng’a ward by-election in Zambezi East against the MMD candidate Maseka.

Meanwhile, Sata yesterday said the defeat of MMD should send a clear message to President Rupiah Banda and his MMD colleagues that people had rejected them and they should, therefore, start packing their bags.

Sata wondered where President Banda’s lie had gone because he lied to King Mswati of Swaziland that he received 100 per cent votes in Solwezi during the 2008 presidential elections.

He said the win had shown that the PF-UPND pact was formidable and that people did not buy insults from President Banda and Vice-President George Kunda.

Sata congratulated Hichilema and the traditional leaders in North Western Province who remained non-partisan.

He also mockingly congratulated President Banda and Vice-President Kunda for trying to put up a false impression that they were popular but forgot that they were dealing with people who were much more intelligent than them.

Sata said the MMD should examine their future because their candidate was a former district commissioner who could have easily won if he had performed.

“This is the beginning of diminishing returns for MMD because the loss in Solwezi is very different from Kasama. Solwezi was their seat. So when they start losing what they have, I feel sorry for them. They have started losing what they have so Mr Rupiah Banda must start packing his bags,” said Sata.

“Mr George Kunda must start packing his bags. I am still insisting that ‘why don’t they tell their image builders, those conmen from Luapula to resign so that we can go and take our seats?”

Sata said after President Banda’s loss in Solwezi, the pact would now go for him in former defence minister George Mpombo’s Kafulafuta constituency.

“We don’t want anymore shadow boxing,” said Sata.

He said the pact would raise issues with the mines in Solwezi who denied 3,000 miners from voting in the by-election.

Meanwhile, acting MMD spokesperson Mike Mulongoti said the MMD should take the blame for the loss and not just blame it on President Banda.

Mulongoti congratulated the pact for their victory. He said MMD would need to do postmortem on what went wrong. He said he was disappointed at the loss.

Asked if the vote could be a confirmation on the misgivings some MMD members and the people of Zambia had over President Banda’s governance, Mulongoti said the government was a collective effort and it would not be fair to place the blame on one individual person.

He said the MMD needed to analyse the issue and not to be emotional about it.

“We want to be sober and look at the issues in a manner that will help us find solutions. I reject the notion that we should put the blame on one individual. If that was the case, then Cabinet should not be there, NEC should not be there. Then it becomes one man show,” Mulongoti said.

“I know he provides leadership as party president and Republican President, but we cannot heap the blame. All of us must examine ourselves; are we doing enough? What is it that we are doing to contribute to the enhancement of the development agenda in the country?”

Mulongoti said President Banda did not put himself in the leadership position.

Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, PF-UPND, SATA

posted by MrK @ 12:28 PM