UPND wants Dora
By Kombe Chimpinde
Fri 05 July 2013, 14:00 CAT

THE UPND wants MMD's Dora Siliya and Maxwell Mwale to stand on the party ticket in Petauke Central and Malambo respectively, sources within UPND have revealed.
But UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema yesterday said he had no comment to make on the issue.

And UPND vice president Dr Canisius Banda, who refused to mention names, said UPND was in talks with a number of members of parliament and non-members of parliament from other political parties including the PF because UPND was now the 'most attractive party'.

Highly-placed sources within the UPND confirmed that there were consultations going on with Siliya and her supporters and that overwhelming response had been received from Mwale.
The source said that the duo had a better chance of re-scooping their seats on the UPND.
Siliya has however not given a substantive position on the matter.
"Yes consultations are there and we have received a good response from Mwale. In fact Mwale is more like one of us because he was our provincial chairman before he went to MMD. So for Mwale, it will not be a difficult decision to make," the source said.
"On Dora, I cannot confirm if she has accepted but yes it is true that we courting the two individuals to re-contest the seats on the party ticket."
When asked to confirm or deny reports of the UPND move on Siliya and Mwale in an interview, Hichilema said that he had no comment on the matter.
"Ask your sources to elaborate more. I have no comment," said Hichilema.
In April when Dr Banda resigned from MMD to join UPND, Nevers Mumba said the MMD felt betrayed by UPND for cannibalising its members.
Mumba, stated that the UPND, its alliance partner, was creating a lack of trust and confidence by it's continued poaching of MMD senior members.
But Hichilema in April justified the poaching of MMD senior members, saying it was one way of consolidating the opposition in the country.
Hichilema said by poaching from MMD, UPND was ensuring that members were not lost to PF.
And Dr Banda yesterday said there would be a lot of pronouncements very soon.
"The decision to join us is entirely their own. We are flatted as a party that we are receiving so much attention," he said.
"So in the next coming months, you will see a lot of announcements on who has joined."
Mwale was UPND Eastern Province chairman before he resigned from the party to join the Forum for Democracy and Development and later joined MMD.
When he defected in October 2001, Mwale said UPND was not a mass movement.
He said a party should be founded on a common national cause.
Mwale said UPND had failed to address the tribal tag which had continued to haunt the party.