Friday, March 29, 2024

PF Candidate Lawrence Shaba wins the Luangwa Mayoral by election

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The Patriotic Front (PF) candidate Lawrence Shaba has won the Luangwa Mayoral by-election which was held yesterday beating his closest rival from the United Party for National Development by 308 votes.

According to the final results declared by the electoral commission of Zambia, the PF candidate scored 4 075 and the UPND candidate scored 3 767 and the socialist party candidate scored 382.

The vacancy in Luangwa District was created as a result of the dismissal of the appeal on 24th June, 2022 by the Constitutional Court. Earlier, the Local Government Tribunal nullified the Luangwa Council Chairperson’s seat on 24th September 2021. The seat fell vacant after being nullified by the local court for allegedly electoral malpractices exhibited during the August 12 polls. The seat was held by Mr Lawrence Shaba of the Patriotic Front (PF).

During the day voting in the by-election for council chairperson in Feira Constituency in Luangwa Town, Lusaka province was reportedly progressing well. The returning officer, Mwangi Haninga, confirmed that voters at various polling stations started queuing around 03: 56 hours to cast their vote.

Mr Haninga said in an interview that the voting exercise is going on smoothly and in a peaceful environment. By mid-day, at the Soweto polling station, over 250 voters had cast their votes out of 700 registered.

At Luangwa primary polling station, both stream 1 and stream 2 registered over 300 voters collectively cast their votes. Mallya and Katondwe polling stations had over 250 and 167 voters who had cast their votes by mid-day.

Mr Haninga affirmed that all the required mechanisms have been put in place in readiness for counting after the voting period. The polling stations which opened at 06hrs will close at 18 hrs.

The Chairperson by-election was being contested by United Party For National Development (UPND)’s candidate Arthur Lungu, Leadership Movement (LM)’s Mumba Geoffrey and Socialist Party (SP)’s, Njobvu Christopher. Others are Shaba Lawrence for the opposition Patriotic Front (PF), and Sikasote Julius, an Independent as candidate.

However, there were reports that UPND cadres in the morning attacked a convoy of the SP and PF members and smashed the vehicle belonging to the Fiera Member of Parliament.

According to Socialist PArty President Fred M’membe: “This is the cause of the violence in the Luangwa council chairperson by-election. It was the cause of violence in the Kaumbwe parliamentary by-election in Petauke. It was the cause of violence in the Lufubu ward by-election in Mwansabombwe, Sokontwe ward by-election in Milenge and in the Lukutu ward by-election in Lubanseshi, Luwingu. And it will be the cause of violence in the coming by-elections and probably even the 2026 general elections.”

“It’s very sad that this has become a pattern of political and election campaigns for UPND. But it is a very dangerous approach which is bound to backfire because violence begets violence. There’s no one with the monopoly of violence. It is neither sustainable nor a dignified way of doing politics or winning elections.”

“There must be some cool heads, voices of reason and restraint among them or else the country is headed for very serious problems. The exercise of power must be a constant practice of self-limitation and modesty,” he said.

The same cadres who caused havoc in the area have been reported chasing all opposition election polling agents and observers from their designated polling stations.
An eye witness said three vehicles namely Ford, Hilux and Prado full of UPND cadres and well known officials are going round polling stations chasing polling agents in the ongoing Luangwa local government by-election.

One of the ECZ polling staff of a named ward said the UPND officials have been removing opposition agents from the polling stations without any explanation.
He said all this is being done in presence of the ECZ senior officials and Police officers.

Some NGOs and Churches have confirmed this incident and found that all polling agents from opposition political parties in Mpuka Ward are not in their designated polling stations.

32 COMMENTS

  1. The samThe same cadres who caused havoc in the area have been reported chasing all opposition election polling agents and observers from their designated polling stations.
    This was the trend in Southern Province during 2021 elections.

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    • Lies……..

      Where are the videos……….

      Everyone has a phone with a camera now………..

      Maybe these camera phones only work for UPND ………..because a there was a lot of PF violence captured in the last general elections………

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  2. Easterns are always slow to turn I am sure by now they still think PF is still in govt …I know the area news travels slow there; you will find some with MMD and UNIP t-shirts there.

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    • UNIP was a better party than MMD. UNIP never plundered but MMD did. UNIP brought industrialisation but MMD privatized it all. So the continued supposed for UNIP was okay

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    • Tarino Orange ///

      Thats a very stup1d statement to assume that easterners are dead asleep. I agree with people who have called you a very bitter-person. We are not irrational people. We think through. Why do you think people from Eastern & Northern Province have played the biggest part in politics from Independence. I live and practice my profession in German. I just returned from Zambia and toured East/Northern Provinces. The truth of the matter is that – Eastern & Northern provinces have all realised that it was a mistake to give HH (1.2 Votes) in 2021. . Not surprising to see UPND trying to ensure Lusambo & Malanji are not on the ballot. HH will find hard to get high numbers in 2026 from North & East and the momentum is high.

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    • #4.5  N.A.S.A

      It is only the clique and those who used to feed off corruption in N and EPs who have realised HH is a wrong president for them………..

      Meanwhile the 2.8 million is growing every day………

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    • SPAKA //

      If the 2.8m is growing everyday, UPND could have easily won this mayoral election in Luangwa. HH and his Justice Minister could have respected ECZ Election Laws by firing Lusambo & Malanji out of politics using the people in Kitwe and Ndola to vote these out. This is happening because UPND is not confident to win those two Byelections.’ That clique who were involved in corruption is very small compared to 10 Million Zambians who are eligible to vote from 18million population. Get real. Don’t cheat yourself. You sound like a person who hardly visits Zambia and talk to the people in urban and rural areas/streets.

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    • SPAKA //

      continued…..

      The people have not seen the overrated promises and manner HH promised. Common people in rural areas and compounds in towns don’t talk about Zambia getting a bad or good deal from IMF, Interest rates, Inflation figures, Trade Deficits. They see things getting expensive every day and point the finger on the president. The common man/woman worries about lack of jobs and and cost of living.

  3. @Peter C Njovu, Tarino orange is very right. Easterners are always lagging behind. Most of the Luangwa dwellers are Easterners even if it is under Lusaka Province

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    • Wow! How Anthony Bwalya came from the backdoor, overlapped and knockout SLUGGISH and SLEEPY established media CRONIES of UPND to become HH’s Right Hand Man & Press Aid. Wow! How Anthony Bwalya came from the backdoor, overlapped and knockout SLUGGISH and SLEEPY established media CRONIES of UPND to become HH’s Right Hand Man & Press Aid.

      The Truth @@

      You are a joker and wake up dude. Eastern Province has produced KK ( Tumbuka), Banda ( Ngoni ), Lungu(Ngoni). Why did it take a person from southern province 57yrs to become president. You people are the ones who have lagged behind. Numbers don’t lie. By the way HH won at the mercy of people from *eastern & *northern province. Historically, the powerbase has always been in Northern & Eastern Provinces. The two bases have maintained the strong cousinship.

    • This is how primitive tribalists are. Thank God I was born and bred in the copperbelt where we didnt know who comes from where. Discrimination is in tribalists blood so much they just have to find ways to discriminate. What is the meaning of “Most of the Luangwa dwellers are Easterners even if it is under Lusaka Province”? You have identified Easterners as your enemy and therefore when you see this enemy you always want to Easternise them. I was in NorthWestern province and found Eastern Province names there should I call them Easterners?

  4. Congratulations to the entire opposition.

    However, the elephant in the house is Copperbelt, the King Maker, which “never lags behind”.

    This is why our republican president squatted for one week on the CB so he could redeem winning prospects.

    Best wishes to UPND and partners.

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  5. Congratulations to PF for winning the seat. I honestly expected the President to condemn the violence that took place in Luangwa as an extract from the speeches he has been preaching about. Is he telling the cadres to act differently from what he tells the nation that cadres have been banished from the face of Zambia and now MAYENDELE MUNO MU ZAMBIA?

  6. Congratulations to former ruling party for scooping the Luangwa Council Chairperson. I honestly expected the President to condemn the violence perpetrated by UPND cadres as the went against his pronouncement on cadreism that it has ended. Is he telling the cadres behind the camera that they must act differently from what he has been preaching to the nation that there’s now Mayendele muno mu Zambia?

  7. How important is the majoral election?
    To suggest that by PF winning Luangwa by-election, then “HH will find hard to get high numbers in 2026 from North & East” is overstatement.

    Let’s just end it there, that a BETTER candidate, WON and CONGRATULATION to the winner, period.

    Without any further and wild toxic, uncalled for statements that are contributing to the polarization of contributions on LT and among the Zambians as well.

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  8. Other things constant, I still believe H.H is a much better devil that Lungu and his group of Mafias. And you can see that they are really fighting hard to come back and continue to plunder the country’s resources. People like Hon. Bowman Lusambo, publicly insulting Dr. Kaunda’s children that they are suffering today because they didn’t utilize the opportunity to enrich themselves when their father was the President. Boasting that ZMW 2 Million was just pocket money to them?? boasting that ZMW 39,000 which the ACC officers found in his wife’s pace was meant for groceries???? And Zambia are still entertaining such kind of politicians???? Shame maningi.

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  9. @ Tarino Orange your comment on finding out why the UPND did not come out favorite in this mayoral election should be the interesting thing that the losing UPND and also Socialist party must address! But which among the political parties in Zambia are interested in fact finding (research) to help improve their operations?

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