The Democratic Party has denied endorsing UPND candidate Stanslous Chele for the February 13th Chilubi parliamentary by elections as indicated by Garry Nkombo, the UPND Chairperson for elections.

DP Spokesperson Judith Kabemba said the party has not at any particular moment either through its President Harry Kalaba, secretariat or any other party hierarchy instructed its members in Chilubi to work with the UPND in the forth coming by election.

Ms Kabemba said the DP is not in any political Alliance with any political party and does not believe in by elections.

She reiterated that the DP does not believe in by-elections because they do not add value to the country but a drain to the national treasury and a source of violence and divisions in the country.

Ms Kabemba said the focus of the DP still remains that of concentrating on growing the party and not spending time on by elections.

She has since appealed to the nation to regard the statement that the party has endorsed the UPND candidate as a mare misrepresentation of information and must be taken as propaganda.

UPND Chairperson for elections was quoted saying that the DP had endorsed their candidate Stanslous Chele for the upcoming by election in Chilubi.

Mr Nkombo commended the DP for their decision saying it was the right decision that would help liberate the people from the poverty inflicted on them by the PF.

The Patriots for Economic Progress has urged Zambians to demand the removal of a provision in the Constitution Amendment Bill number 10 which provides for the creation of a coalition government.

PeP President Sean Tembo has warned that this provision if enacted into law will cause a Constitutional crisis in 2021 and undermine national security and must therefore be removed without hesitation.

Mr. Tembo said his party can live with the other ridiculous provisions of Bill 10 like the introduction of Deputy Ministers, but the provision on coalition government is totally poisonous and must be removed at once.

He said this provision was only put there in order to provide for a back door route for the PF to come back to power once they lose the general elections next year, which they shall definitely lose.

Mr. Tembo urged the people of Zambia not to allow their votes to be legally stolen through Bill 10.

“We cannot allow such molestation of the most sacred law of the land just so as to suit the wanton narrow partisan interests of a select few members of the Patriotic Front party. Zambia is bigger than any individual or political party”, he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tembo said his party opposes Bill 10 because of both the Procedure that was used to derive it as well as the content which both do not serve the interest of the Zambian people.

“On the issue of procedure, we decry the basis for identifying the list of delegates to the so-called National Dialogue Forum. Who came up with that list of delegates and what criteria were used? Suffice to mention that the list of NDF delegates was not representative of the various political and governance interest groups in this country and was clearly rigged in favour of the ruling PF and its myriad of vuvuzela NGOs and political parties”, said Mr Tembo.

He said the procedure for the NDF and consequently for Bill 10 was rigged and cannot therefore be accepted as a genuine and sincere basis for amending the Republic Constitution, the most sacred law of the land.

And on the content of Bill 10, Mr Tembo said his Party’s single biggest objection is the provision which introduces the establishment of a coalition government which defeats all logic because Zambia is not a Parliamentary democracy where a coalition government can be formed.

THE National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it will continue fielding its own candidates for elections because there is no electoral pact with the United Party for National Development (UPND) or any opposition alliance members.

NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili said in an interview NDC as an independent political party would continue fielding its own candidates for elections because it was not in electoral pact with other opposition parties including the UPND. He said the alliance had not reached an agreement on the electoral pact.

“We have not reached an agreement on the electoral pact to discuss electoral matters. What we have is an alliance and the two are totally different,” Mr Kambwili said.

He said alliance members were free to field their own candidates in elections.

Mr Kambwili however said his party was enjoying a cordial relationship with the UPND.

“I have spoken to (Stephen) Katuka who is very close to me and can never say such a thing and I have spoken to HH.  He has denied issuing any statement against me,” Mr Kambwili said.

Mr Kambwili said NDC and UPND were enjoying a good relationship because they were in an alliance.

The United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has said that the ruling Patriotic Front(PF) have impoverished Zambians while enriching themselves through corruption.

In a post on his facebook page, the UPND leader said that since 2011, the ruling party never paid attention to the needs of Chiluba Constituency and that the late MP had been always lamenting about the challenges her people were going through in Chilubi Constituency, such as lack of jobs, medical facilities such as ambulance, relief food for the hungry citizens, and now elections in site, the are now bribing voters, as they have always done.

“We have once again seen our colleagues in the PF doing what they are best known for during every election, bribing voters. The PF regime has been in power since 2011, and the late Chilubi Constituency MP Hon. Rosaria Fundanga (MHSRIP) has held the seat since 2016. She was always lamenting about the challenges her people were going through in Chilubi Constituency, such as lack of jobs, medical facilities such as ambulance, relief food for the hungry citizens, but nobody paid attention,” he said in a statement.

“On our part as UPND, we spent most of 2019 demanding for relief food for our hungry citizens, job opportunities, and other long term measures to address poverty in the country, but PF never listened. When we declared hunger as a national disaster and told those holding power to do the same so that we can attract local, regional and international support, this was not only ignored, but we were also threatened with arrest.”

Hichilema said with a by-election in Chilubi Constituency and some wards around the country, those were the places the PF now thinks need urgent relief food, ambulances and other unplanned development projects.

“What message are we sending to the rest of the country where citizens are equally suffering now? Are we not openly implying that our citizens should be praying some misfortune happens to their elected representatives, MPs, mayors, council chairpersons and councillors, so that they can have temporal relief in their livelihoods through handouts?” he asked.

“And this is where we fundamentally differ with our colleagues in the PF. They focus on short term goals while we focus on long term sustainable development for our people. Technically, the PF have impoverished our people while enriching themselves through corruption. Now they take the stolen money and want to pretend they care more by giving short term handouts purely for votes.”

Hichilema said the UPND was comforted that citizens were seeing through PF schemes going by the recent election outcomes where PF pumped lots of money and other gifts, citizens got the items, but voted for the UPND.

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has said that the current number of constituencies cannot be changed without first amending the Constitution.

ECZ acting public relations manager Sylvia Bwalya said proposals to carry out a delimitation exercise can only be effected through amendment of the Constitution.

“In the event that the outcome of the delimitation exercise is to recommend an increase in the number of constituencies, from the current 156, this would require an amendment of Article 68(2) via the Constitutional Amendment Bill

Ms. Bwalya’s sentiments were echoed by ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano who said that the current number of constituencies cannot be changed without amending the constitution because the existing constitution provides the number Constituencies the country should have which is 156, that this was the reason the Commission cannot conduct the delimitation exercise without changes to the Constitution.

He said at the moment ECZ can only recommend an increase in the number of constituencies.

And Government has clarified that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) cannot carry out the delimitation exercise without harmonizing the current constitution.

Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo said that because the current constitution does not provide clauses for the creation of new constituencies.

Mr Kampyongo was reacting to remarks made by UPND-Monze Central Member of Parliament Jack Mwimbu at a public discussion forum where he stated that the ECZ can carry out the delimitation exercise without amending the current constitution.

The Home Affairs Minister has also encouraged Zambians to read public documents to avoid being misled.