Chembe Nyangu Refutes ECZ Claims

Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) Deputy National Secretary Chembe Nyangu has refuted claims by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) that it was agreed by all political parties to introduce the electronic results transmission system in a meeting held last month. He said that the inconvenient truth was that the introduction of the system was merely a proposal tabled by ECZ on 29th August 2014 and that attendance of the meeting by an MMD representative did not constitute agreement with the proposal.

“We are also equally shocked that Mr Chris Akufuna can go on air and claim that we agreed to the proposal. The MMD is a very big party which does not make such big decisions through one or two people. We had not sat to formulate our position by the time that meeting was held so there is no way that our representative in that meeting Mr Isaac Muntanga could have decided on behalf of the whole MMD,” Mr Nyangu said. He also noted that all the parties participating in the by-elections have rejected the system except the Patriotic Front (PF).

Mr Nyangu further said that it was disappointing that the National Restoration Party which stands on issue-based campaigns had joined the ECZ in misleading Zambians when it was not even participating in the by-elections and therefore had no moral right to even comment on the matter.

And Mr Nyangu has clarified that MMD president Dr Nevers Mumba did not instruct MMD cadres to destroy and throw away ECZ electronic results transmission equipment at polling stations as reported by Radio Phoenix during the 06:45 news bulletin on 10th September 2014.

“Our journalists should learn to report the truth without additions and subtractions. I listened to the news myself and in the clip they played, there was no point at which Dr Mumba said anything close to what Radio Phoenix claims. All he said was that the MMD rejects the use of this transmission equipment and it cannot be imposed on us. MMD is a peaceful party that would never destroy property or attack people the way some political parties do. Moreover, Dr Mumba is not the kind of person who would issue such retrogressive instructions when he stands for political maturity and issue-based campaigns.”