
THE MMD has scooped nine local government seats unopposed in Western, Southern and Eastern provinces following failure by the opposition to raise the mandatory nine supporters ahead of the September 20, 2011 tripartite elections.
The MMD has won five seats in Eastern Province and two others in Western Province unopposed. The Patriotic Front (PF) only won one ward in Western Province where the adoption certificate for the MMD candidate delayed to arrive.
MMD Eastern Province chairperson for women’s affairs Dorothy Phiri and her counterpart in Western Province Namatama Mupo confirmed the developments in separate interviews yesterday.
In Southern Province, MMD candidate Golliath Hankomba scooped unopposed the Mwanza East Ward in Moomba Constituency, according to Southern Province MMD chairperson Edgar Keembe.
Ms Mupo, in an interview from Mongu, said a PF cadre Charles Liswaniso told The Post newspaper a lie in yesterday’s lead story that the opposition party had won two seats when it only got Lweti Ward following
the successful but late filing of the nomination by the MMD candidate Nasilele Lusangu for Lulang’unyi Ward which they claimed to have been won by the PF unopposed.
She said the MMD is the one that had scooped two wards in a constituency in Shang’ombo District where the MMD is fielding Mubika Mubika at parliamentary level.
Ms Mupo said the MMD proposed to the Returning Officer in Lweti to allow its candidate to file as an independent but the returning officer was hostile and refused despite the law allowing individuals to file in that capacity even if they belonged to a political party.
In Eastern Province, the MMD scooped five wards after the opposition struggled to find nine supporters until the nominations were concluded.
The ward seats won by the MMD in Eastern Province include Kazimule in Luangeni, Ng’ongwe in Kasenengwa, Ambizi in Nyima, Mwangazi also in Nyimba and Nsefu in Malambo Constituency.
In Kalabo Central Constituency in Western Province, the PF failed to field candidates in Likona and Ng’uma wards and also in Sikongo’s Mwenyi Ward.
There is also no PF candidate in Siluwe Ward in Liuwa Constituency where only the MMD and United Party for National Development (UPND) managed to field candidates.
Meanwhile, Mr Keembe said the UPND was set to lose several seats to the MMD in Southern Province because the mood had changed while the PF was non-existent which has forced the party to leave out several ward seats to the ruling party and UPND.
In an another development, MMD Western Province chairperson Simasiku Namakando said the announcement by PF president Michael Sata that he would use late president Levy Mwanawasa’s vision to improve the welfare of the Lenje people in Chisamba shows that the PF does not have a vision of their own for Zambia.
In Chiyeke Kakoma Ward in Chavuma’s North-Western Province, the MMD also scooped the seat unopposed.
Former Energy minister Kenneth Konga said the opposition failed to find candidates to contest the seat until the nominations closed.
Mr Konga said the win shows how disorganised the opposition political parties were and predicted that they would lose terribly in the province.
And UPND candidate Taulino Sakala won Mbuzi Ward in Vubwi Constituency in Eastern Province where the candidate for the MMD did not have the adoption certificate until the nominations closed.
The opposition party has also won the Chilumba Ward in Mpulungu through Joshua Simuchenje.
Mr Namakando said Mr Sata should remember that the late president did not have any vision for the Lenje people but had a vision for the whole Zambia.
He reminded Mr Sata that he was the one who fought the late president and opposed everything that he did and wondered how he could now appreciate the vision which he opposed when the late president was alive.
[Times of Zambia]