Maravi

Kawandami, Milupi celebrate their victories

Kawandami, Milupi celebrate their victories
By Kabanda Chulu and Abigail Chaponda in Ndola and Mwala Kalalu
Sat 07 Aug. 2010, 04:00 CAT

NEWLY elected PF Chifubu member of parliament Susan Kawandami has Zambian women have every opportunity to become leaders in the country. And MMD campaign manager Mwansa Mbulakulima has accused the Patriotic Front (PF) of engaging in corruption and intimidation to secure victory.

Meanwhile, Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) leader Charles Milupi yesterday said his retention of the Luena parliamentary seat is a statement to the MMD that people had suffered enough.

Anticipation of excitement swept through the main auditorium at Lowenthal Theatre in Ndola on Thursday night when jubilant PF cadres chanted slogans in praise of their political leadership and denounced the policies of the MMD government.

The PF cadres, who started arriving around 19 hours, stormed the theatre hall carrying vuvuzelas, drums and whistles and started celebrating victory even before the official results were announced by returning officer Roy Kuseka.

Later, Kawandami was declared winner after amassing 6,976 votes against the MMD’s Frank Ngambi’s 4,539 votes, while Bryan Banda of ADD got 412 votes with Poko Mambwe of UNIP receiving 221 votes.

Speaking after Kuseka declared her as duly elected member of parliament for Chifubu, Kawandami advised women not to be scared of men when aspiring for leadership positions.

“When this campaign started, I knew that I was going to win the election and I told Ng’ambi that I was in a winning boat and that he should also come on board to become one of us and I am proud of the people for giving me this support.

As you know I stood among men and have emerged victorious and this is a stepping stone for women and they should come forward to stand because they have every opportunity to be leaders of this nation,” she said.

And PF campaign manager Willie Nsanda said former president Fredrick Chiluba had been taught a lesson and that he should avoid campaigning for the MMD.

“We came to teach the boys of Ndola how politics are conducted, starting with their boss Dr Chiluba who doesn’t know that he is finished in politics and he must now stop because he campaigned in Chimwemwe and Chifubu but we have hit him pants down,” he said.

PF chairman for elections Geoffrey Mwamba said President Rupiah Banda should be ashamed of using Chiluba in trying to bring disunity in the country.

“We are proud of the people of Chifubu for bringing shame on RB, Dr Chiluba and the entire MMD government and it is now clear that Michael Sata is a man of the people and come 2011 he shall rule this country,” said Mwamba.

But Mbulakulima said the difference recorded between PF and MMD was insignificant thus demonstrating that MMD had made in-roads into what is claimed to be the PF stronghold.

“MMD is up and running and in 2011 we shall give them a good run. If you ask me if elections were free and fair, my personal answer is that there was a lot of intimidation from PF. This could have contributed to the apathy we saw yesterday,” he said.

“This hooliganism has continued. Even today as they celebrate, they are burning tyres and deforming billboards in Chifubu. This kind of behaviour should be condemned at all costs.”

When asked if MMD was considering petitioning the outcome of the elections, Mbulakulima failed to give a categorical answer.

“That is up to the government spokesperson to answer but talking as campaign manager, I saw some elements of corruption and our officials reported this matter to Electoral Commission because one PF chairman was seen dishing out K5,000 notes and when confronted he fled,” said Mbulakulima said.

And Ngambi pledged to continue being a servant of the people.

“I will remain open and will be willing to work with you people and will be available for any assistance and if requested will help Kawandami to bring development to Chifubu,” said Ngambi.

And MMD campaign manager in the Luena parliamentary by-election, Prof Geoffrey Lungwangwa, yesterday attributed his party’s loss to the absence of party structures in the constituency for the past 14 years.

And addressing journalists shortly after he was declared winner of Thursday’s Luena by-election by returning officer Chrispine Kalihonga at Mongu Civic Centre yesterday morning, Milupi said his win was a victory for democracy.

Milupi, who was the constituency’s former Independent parliamentarian, polled 3,688 votes, the MMD polled 2,800, UPND polled 1,806, UNIP 115 and the ULP polled 116 out of a total of 8,630 votes cast.

The number of eligible voters in Luena is estimated at over 14,000 and it has a total of 42 polling stations in eight wards.

“I would like to thank the wonderful people of Luena who have withstood so many temptations to come up with a positive result,” Milupi said amidst unrestrained cheers from the crowd of supporters.

“I think this victory is a victory for democracy. The people have been allowed to make their decision based on the issues concerning Luena, concerning Western Province and issues affecting this country, Zambia.”

Milupi said he thanked the people of Luena wholeheartedly for re-electing him, amidst vote buying and grabbing of voters’ cards by some of his competitors.
“By this action we have reset the politics of Zambia,” Milupi said.

“Politics of insults, politics of violence is not what is wanted in this country.”
Milupi said for those politicians that liked engaging in such vices, the people of Luena were telling them that electoral malpractices were not sufficient to win an election.

“If we can do so much for so little, what if we were given the opportunity to control the treasury of the country?” he asked. “What is required is integrity, dedication, hard work and commitment.”

Milupi said it was sad that from a middle-income country at independence, Zambia was now being defined as a least developed country.

“This can no longer be tolerated,” Milupi said. “Enough is enough. We have suffered enough in this country. I advise those who are still on the fence, those who were waiting to see what was going to happen in Luena Constituency that the victory has been achieved.”

After his statement to journalists, Milupi’s motorcade drove around Mongu town before proceeding to Limulunga, which is in Luena Constituency.

And in an interview shortly after Milupi was declared winner, Prof Lungwangwa, who is also communications and transport minister as well Nalikwanda MMD parliamentarian, said that although Milupi had retained the Luena seat the winning margin had been extremely narrow compared to the over 2000 that Milupi beat the MMD with in 2006.

“The results are out, Honourable Milupi, yes he has retained his seat in Parliament but the margin has been extremely narrow,” Prof Lungwangwa said. “MMD as a party is still very popular. First when you compare the performance; our performance in this by-election and the performance of the UPND, UPND are not a factor.

We stand a better chance of doing very well next time around.”
Prof Lungwangwa said the MMD had no structures on the ground in Luena and that they had to put up structures during the campaign period.

“The absence of party structures might have affected our performance,” Prof Lungwangwa said. “We did our best, but of course these are elections…for the last 14 years we never had a presence in Luena Constituency.”

Prof Lungwangwa said come 2011 the MMD was going to win the Luena seat. He also said he was not aware that there was controversy over his appointment as the campaign manager in the Luena elections.

Prof Lungwangwa said the MMD’s victory in Kaoma Central’s Longe Ward by-election indicated that the ruling party was still strong in the province.

However, there was visible discontent and frustration among some MMD youths upon realising that they had lost the by-election, which they said they could have won on a silver plate.

Some of them were heard saying that they were going to stage a protest to press for the immediate resignation of the party's top leadership in the Province.

Labels: ADD, BY-ELECTIONS, CHARLES MILUPI, CHILUBA, GEOFFREY MWAMBA, MWANSA MBULAKULIMA, PF, SUSAN KAWANDAMI

posted by MrK @ 4:05 AM