The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) in Livingstone says the loss it has suffered in the Livingstone parliamentary by-election is a minor setback .
The opposition party says the setback will not stop it from fighting alleged undemocratic tendencies by the ruling Patriotic Front government.
And the UNPD members in Livingstone say they will support the move by the party to petition the Livingstone by-election results which saw the PF candidate emerge victorious.
In an interview with ZANIS in Livingstone today, UPND Livingstone spokesperson Neto Halwabala said the loss was just a minor setback which he attributed to violence allegedly perpetrated by the ruling PF whose candidate Lawrence Evans scooped the seat with 10,173
votes against his closest rival Regina Musokotwane of the UPND who got 7,805 votes.
Mr Halwabala said the fact that the run up to the elections was characterized by political violence forced many voters to stay away contributing to high voter apathy witnessed in the polls.
He also explained that the arrests of the president Hakainde Hichilema and other senior UPND officials and attempts to frame the party over the deaths of two PF cadres also contributed to the loss of the seat.
Mr Halwabala further said heavy police presence in the city which was seen as intimidation by the electorates forced many to stay away from voting.
“Losing this seat is just a minor setback which will not stop us from fighting injustices and other undemocratic tendencies by this government,” said Mr. Halwabala.
“Our voters were also forced to stay way due to fear of been intimated by heavy police presence and the arrests of Mr. Hichilema and other party officials a few weeks ago also instilled fear among most of our sympathisers,” said Mr. Halwabala.
Mr. Halwabala further said much as the UPND wanted to be in power, its main concern now was to ensure that the PF government uplift good democratic tenets and deliver promises it made to the people of Zambia.
He said UPND was worried at a number of issues such as the numerous by-elections the PF was creating at a great cost to the country and the alleged breakdown of law and order.
“Much as we want to form government, our main worry at the moment is numerous wanton creation of by-elections at a high cost to government, and the break-down of law which is now characterized by police brutality,” Mr. Halwabala said.
Meanwhile, UNPD members in Livingstone say they will support the move by the party to petition the constituency by-election results which saw the PF candidate emerge victorious.
Mr. Halwabala said it was clear that the polls were not free and fair because the elections were marred by political violence.
And Mr. Halwabala said UPND has performed better without being in a pact with the Movement for Multi-party democracy (MMD) during the March 14 polls.
The UPND spokesperson thanked the people of Livingstone who he said even after the violence and intimidation managed to vote for the party.
The PF won the elections after its candidate Lawrence Evans polled 10,173, followed by UPND’S Regina Musokotwane with 7,805, MMD’s Fred Siasutwe got 1,579, and UNIP’s Green Mwanagombe trailed last with a paltry 67 votes.
ZANIS
Minor setback ? Hmm ! Petition them it is your democratic right…a dying horse deserves a last kick too.Hope you have learnt a lesson or two from the loss.
I thought watchdog said UPND was popular and would scoop Livingstone and Mpongwe with landslide victories, I thought they sad Sata was panicking and OP told them that he was having sleepless nights! Wish I knew sooner that it is all comedy, now I can go there and see what other jokes they have today.
Minor set back? Yes because of rigging and force imprisoning of UPND cadres sent shivers in the voters. One of the best ingredients to petition the vote and can easily be won in court
@Pa Zed.The earlier you accept the better.Being in denial is a bad thing.Good luck with the petition though.Deep down i know that it will be a waste of HH`s money and time.
Tell this GUY its not minor its a major one stop crying your friends are busy. working hard
just accept defeat and move on.
why start another battle which you will lose yet again.
just accept that pf have gained popularity in southern province, period.
I wish HH could be in the news for providing a scholarship for suffering Zambians from kindergarten to university. Not everyday all we are hearing is we will keep fighting. What comes out of fighting, it is the same death we are seeing!
K360 Billion Kwacha most of which multiplying out of privatization of our hopes and bread baskets. Shows how selfish some men are
Looooser. We told you that you can not attract followers when your supporters and yoursel are full of trading insults, agitation, hate messages, belittling those in authority day in and out, opposed to anything govt does, even against fighting corruption, against the police, against anything and anybody, believing that its only you who has the knowledge, expertise and wisdom to lead the nation, etc, etc, You are simply too negative to attract more followers. You can use money and the people you think are your followers will with deception just get that money and eat it but not vote for you. Change or change will change you. You will live and die an opposition person. Many others who were not even so sceptical never made to plot 1, what about you? Think a bit more wisely. Respect others.
You are the people who have destroyed Africa who think democracy is about always winning. In a democracy you should expect and get used to either winning or losing elections. Its not a matter of life and death. When are maggots like you going to grow up? That is why you are prune to violence and murder because winning to you is everything! From the rubbish youve written I will not be surprised for your Sata to refuse to step down when he loses. And please stop criminalizing opposition politics. Opposing a govt is part of the democratic process. There’s nothing insulting about. Honestly you sound like a broken record!
@Wendy Love: Its people like you who have caused UPND to go low in popularity. Revisit my contribution and you will see that I have poked on why UPND is not doing well, How do you come to me – with insults! and you think you are more clever than others. Tune down on your bad language. Just urgue your case with no recourse to bad mouth mentality. You will remain a bad mouth forever.
You call that a minor set back? You chaps must be real comedians! Why cant you just join Zambia 1 commedy? For your information that is a major blow for your non governmental party and the sooner you realise that, the better for your blood pressure! Start re organising yourselves especially at top leadership level! Otherwise pabwatooooo is here to stay!
PF is dying with its founder.
Even for UNIP it was a minor setback as well
Ba UPND: you had a wrong candidate. Former Katombora MP, somebody who has had a “silver spoon” in her mouth since time immemorial. Her shelf-life had surely expired! Try fresh candidates in future.
You’re dumb. How can you know someone ‘from time immemorial’. Bane your Sata is destroying you. Stop imitating him…….he’s never been to school! Stop saying archaic stuff!
Mazoka left behind a vibrant party only to be destroyed by this HH chap. I remember very well when Andy was alive the party had support from almost all corners of the country now its a provincial party. As regards the loss in lstone upnd are too blame they fielded a wrong candidate. I mean this woman is not frm lston and is a reject frm her constituecny in kazungula. This was a litmus test pf will now penetrate into southern province. If you want expel siamunene and monde. To the people of lstone thanx a lot for rising above tribal politics………
True. Minor setback only. We are soldiering on until we demolish the dangerous cartel at Bwinjimfumu come 2016 or earlier
PROBLEM IS HH IS TREATED AS A god IN UPND. EVERYTHING STARTS WITH HH AND ENDS WITH HH THATS WHY HE SAYS HE WILL BE THE LAST TONGA STANDING. SO SELFISH AND TARNISHING THE IMAGE OF HARD WORKING TONGA PEOPLE.
IF TOMORROW THIS GUY FOUND HIS WAY INTO STATE HOUSE, WE WOULD HAVE AN Idi Amin REINCARNATE
YOU PF SUPPORTES ARE THE ONES WHO EVEN REFER TO SATAN AS YOUR GOD SHAME ON YOU. COME 2016 YOU WILL CRY.
Lt bring us the latest info.We have heard that RB`s immunity has been removed.If only the opposition didnt walk out of parliament.Who is a fo-ol now ? Lol
Do you have problems with simple arithmetic? What difference would it have made even if they stayed back? If the motion went through by 80 votes where would the votes come from to overturn this ? There are only 158 MPs in the House. Some opposition MPs are currently in Addis Ababa attending a parliamentary Forum for opposition parties. PF Cadre, Arithmetic, and commonsense should indeed never be used in the same sentence! You’re a dumb boy!
Wiseman from the east, you are a fool. Stop exposing your ignorance, that motion needed 2 thirds majority and it was achieved especially that your fellow fools walked out but their walking out was on no value as the quoram was formed for the house to continue with its business
Minor setback walilwala bati? you r challenged to expel you two mps who are ministers. Then you will wake up to reality. HH ulefwa kucikonko mwaice unomwaka
And someone is literally dying from a number of ailments! We are even scared of people with bald heads! Tekupena konse uku?
So which loss wil be a major setback?
when HH dies
Or indeed the other Guy whose become very scarce! That will be a major setback for my tribalist cousins. They would have lost their major breadwinner!There will be gnashing of teeth. For us RB was not our life and soul, but for my Bemba friends Sata is their oxygen!
I thot only one person died now they are two? Who is the other bemba boy? Come 2016 RB will rule, because Thandiwe is still very young, she still needs to be in plot 1.
Hahaha..really a small setup. I just look forward to seeing the big setup in 2016..hehehe, UPND has fallen. Heheh HH is mourning in his bedroom…….yeeeh what a small setup.
Peace and prosperity to Mother Zambia
He is mourning in his bucket of $72m. What a nice way to mourn! Others mourn in barrels of their 7 Guns!
Chilifye ecifinfya umukonso. UPND please sober up other wise you lead this country to a one party state. You are playing in Satas hands- a game you cannot win.
are the appointment of 4 UPND mps to ministerail positions a minor set back as well? just accept defeat and carry on.
Yes it is. I still have my $72m. When I call Ukwa a Dictator ; he retorts that I am RICH and yet I have never worked! How pathetic!
Ladies n’ gentlemen, we have just lost all four engines. Dont worry its a minor setback. We are in a very safe aircraft. Lol
Thats very Flat! Pathetic attempt at humour!
UPND is dead even those who voted for it were just sympathizer. EExpel Monde and you will only get two votes. We don’t want regional politics of tribalism and hatred what we want is unity and development. Sela tubombeko
Time to go back to the drawing board, this By-election is now history.
I have said this before and i will say it again, this special adviser to HH ( William Banda) is a liability and not an asset, fire him now or keep losing supporters.
Loss cannot be regarded as a minor set back if you are a serious party Mr Halwabala. Your pride for Southern Province has been eroded. You guys are finished unless you stop your bad political tendancies;violence,tribalism,intimidation,pride for nothing etc. then the people of Zambia will give you respect.
IT IS AMAZING HOW PR CADRES CAN EVEN BE JUBILANT ON THAT THEY WON THE SEAT.VOTE BUYING AND INTIMIDATION WAS THE ORDER OF THE DAY.THE ARMED MILITIA WING OF THE PF ,THE ZAMBIA POLICE HAVE LOST THEIR CREDIBILITY.THEY COULD NOT EVEN INVESTIGATE A CLEAR MURDER OF A PF CADRE BY PF ENGINEERED BY THE PF.
HOW SHAMEFUL AND DISPEAKABLE!TELL THE NATION LOUD AND SAY UPND IS TRIBAL.OH SO THE MORE THAN 10,000 VOTES FOR YOUR CANDIDATE WERE BEMBA VOTERS?IF YES THEN YOU TELL ME WHO IS TRIBAL,IF NOT THEN ALSO TELL ME WHO IS TRIBAL?YOU CAN WIN ALL THE BYE ELECTIONS THROUGH RIGGING AND VOTE BUYING BUT BE REMINDED THAT EVEN UNIP IN 1991 HAD 100% PARLIAMENTARY SEATS.
JUST FULFILL THE 90 DAY PROMISES AND STOP ACTING AS IF YOU ARE STILL IN OPPOSITION.YOUR PRESIDENT MAY NOT EVEN REACH 2016.WE SHALL .
You call that a minor setback,come on man stop cheating yourselves.losing a seat in a province you consider to be a stronghold is big setback for mapAtizya but a big boost to pf.we will soon meet I’m kapiri and lukulu,there is something wrong with the top leadership of upnd.you can ve william banda as an adviser and expect people to trust.that man is associated with violence,no wonder mapatizya is on every upnd cadre ‘s mouth.
IS AMAZING HOW pf CADRES CAN EVEN BE JUBILANT THAT THEY WON THE SEAT BECAUSE THE PARTY IS POPULAR.VOTE BUYING AND INTIMIDATION WAS THE ORDER OF THE DAY.THE ARMED MILITIA WING OF THE PF, THE ZP HAVE LOST THEIR CREDIBILITY.THEY COULD NOT EVEN INVESTIGATE A CLEAR MURDER OF A pf CADRE BY PF ENGINEERED BY pf.
HOW SHAMEFUL AND DI-SPEAKABLE!TELL THE NATION LOUD AND SAY UPND IS TRIBAL.OH SO THE MORE THAN 10,000 VOTES FOR YOUR CANDIDATE WERE BEMBA VOTERS?IF YES THEN YOU TELL ME WHO IS TRIBAL,IF NOT THEN ALSO TELL ME WHO IS TRIBAL?YOU CAN WIN ALL THE BYE ELECTIONS THROUGH RIGGING AND VOTE BUYING BUT BE REMINDED THAT EVEN UNIP IN 1991 HAD 100% PARLIAMENTARY SEATS.
JUST FULFILL THE 90 DAY PROMISES THE CLOCK IS TICKING .YOUR PRESIDENT MAY NOT EVEN REACH THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.WE SHALL SEE!
Muzakaula. You mean losing an election in an area you called your stronghold is a minor setback. I think this should be cause for concern to any reasonable human being. If you can lose elections in your own back yard (the most import city, capital of your stronghold), then where are you ever going to win? Any some imbecile foolisshly says HH for 2016, who is going to vote for that iddiot?
Muzakaula. Mukali mukaula. You mean losing an election in an area you called your stronghold is a minor setback. I think this should be cause for concern to any reasonable human being. If you can lose elections in your own back yard (the most import city, capital of your stronghold), then where are you ever going to win? And some imbecile foolisshly says HH for 2016, who is going to vote for that iddiot?
Lets face facts. Livingstone central is a free- for- all. UPND has had it once or twice, MMD twice, ULP TWICE and PF might have it for once (if UPND will not petition). So there is no need to WORRY ABOUT UPND and its standing in livingstone. infact, it is even a blessing in disguise that PF won because it will give chance to the youths, kaponyas and a few other illiterates to see the failure of the government. by 2016, pf would decampaign itself.
@ Zed forwad. You want to sound like you don’t care but you actually are crying because, your bitterness cannot be disguised. We see this a lot in kids. The boy is beaten and crying but at the same time telling the victor that ” anso sunanimenye”
But why are crying then if you have not been beaten?
Nonsense to you all!
A minor setback ? ha ha ha! anyway if you want to see more of this kind expel more mps who will be appointed by MC in few weeks to come. Sori this is just a wake up call for UPND we have mature pipo in state house who can finish upnd, therefore pf deserves respect then u ll be spared.