13 Opposition Party, the Patriotic Front (PF) cadres in Mkushi district have defected to the ruling MMD.

Welcoming the defectors at Welfare ground, MMD district Chairperson Webby Kamwendo who welcomed the defectors to the ruling party said he was happy with the cadres ‘decision to join the MMD.

Mr Kamwendo said the defections underscored the dominance of MMD in Mkushi, adding that decisions taken by the ex-PF members signified the confidence that residents have in the ruling party.

He said that the MMD team in the District would continue to uphold a receptive stance towards new members as well as those that had plans to rejoin the party.

He pointed out that the MMD was not daunted by criticisms from the PF, saying that residents acknowledged the various developmental programmes which had been implemented by government.

Citing the ongoing construction works of schools, roads and health centres, Mr Kamwendo said the administration of President Rupiah Banda had brought many benefits to the District.

He said government subsidized agriculture input programme for small scale farmers had helped reduce poverty in the district adding that the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) as well as the Food Security Pack (FSP), had consolidated food security.

Charles Chanda, Jack Mulambya, Alica Kana and Donald Simpokolwe were amongst the named defectors, who were influential in the PF’s branch and ward structures.

Others are John Ngoma, Brenda Chilufya, Daniel Mutale, Joseph Miselo and Dorothy Chanda.

Mr Kamwendo also took the opportunity to appeal to residents to continue upholding peaceful politics adding that the district and nation as a whole had more to gain from peaceful co-existence.

Meanwhile, Mkushi district‘s PF Treasurer Teddy Sichilima admitted that his Party had lost members through defections to MMD.

Mr. Sichilima however, pointed out that the 13 had defected to MMD because they had failed to scoop top positions during the recent PF district elections.

[ ZANIS ]

The United Liberal Party (ULP) has said that it is disappointed by the losing UPND candidate’s claims in the Luena by-election, Muyunda Illilonga that it was distributing tribal literature in the Luena Parliamentary by-election.

ULP National Chairperson for Women Charity Katilungu in a statement said the literature distributed by ULP in Luena was not tribal in anyway but was merely based on facts to promote their candidate Sikatala Musole.

She appeals to Mr.Illilonga not to blame the ULP for his loss in the Luena by-elections and to stop crying over spilt milk.

Ms Katilungu says his loss is due to his long absence from Luena constituency and UPND’s countrywide loss of political fortunes.

She says the United Liberal Party (ULP) was merely reminding the people of Luena Constituency that Mr. Illilonga does not live in the constituency.

She says it is wrong for Mr. Illilonga to claim that the voting in Luena was influenced by tribalism when all the candidates can claim some roots from Luena constituency.

[pullquote]Ms Katilungu appeals to Mr. Illilonga not to mourn about bribery in Luena when the UPND had close to K500 million at their disposal which she say they used to buy mealie-meal, meat and cooking oil for distribution to would be voters.[/pullquote]

Ms Katilungu adds that the UPND was the party that distributed derogatory leaflets about other political leaders who were not even candidates in the Luena by-election.

She says the ULP agrees with Mr. Illilonga that there was massive bribery and malicious campaigning before voting day.

She however says it disappointing that Mr. Illilonga has failed to tell the nation that his party, the UPND,was in the forefront of these dirty campaign schemes such as bribery, malicious campaign and vote buying.

Ms Katilungu appeals to Mr. Illilonga not to mourn about bribery in Luena when the UPND had close to K500 million at their disposal which she say they used to buy mealie-meal, meat and cooking oil for distribution to would be voters.

She adds that the UPND even distributed chitenge material which was not bearing their party logo but straight from the retail shops.

QFM

Consequently, the UPND has attacked the PF wondering how the electoral defeat of one pact member can be received so gleefully by another partner.

UPND youths also plan to petition their party to explain the nature of the PF/UPND pact because they were being insulted everyday.

UPND national chairman Joe Kalusa said it is sad that leaders of the PF are rejoicing over the outcome of the Luena by-elections when they are partners who should instead be consoling each other.

Mr Kalusa, who was with the UPND vice spokesperson Cornelius Mwitwa, said in an interview yesterday that the PF’s joy over the Luena loss is demeaning, provocative and intended to undermine the UPND.

“The attacks are with malice aimed at frustrating our party and eventually breaking the pact that the Zambian people have welcomed with both hands,” he said.

Mr Kalusa said the youths are wondering what kind of partnership UPND has engaged with PF if malicious celebrations can be the order of the day.

“It is really unacceptable how the PF vice-president Guy Scott can celebrate UPND loss in Luena,” he said in reference to an article in The Post newspaper yesterday where Dr Scott wrote that the theory that UPND was going to sweep Western Province was “well and truly punctured”.

Mr Kalusa said the utterances by PF are a clear indication that it is not interested in the pact.
He said the UPND youths plan to petition their party to explain the nature of the PF/UPND pact because they were being insulted everyday.

Mr Kalusa called on PF president Michael Sata to advise his party vice-president Dr Scott against rejoicing over the UPND loss in Luena to save the pact.

And Mr Kalusa accused the PF leadership of campaigning against the UPND.

“The PF leadership is on a vicious campaign to undermine UPND,” he said.

When contacted for a comment PF spokesperson Given Lubinda said he will comment on the matter today.
Dr Scott also wrote that a tiff between PF and UPND over who should contest this was what led to the current cracks in the PF-UPND pact.

“UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was very clear that he was taking a territorial approach to expanding his party’s support base in Zambia and demanded to be in effect allocated all of Western Province as his hunting ground,” he said.

Dr Scott said this might have been reasonable in the days of Anderson Mazoka’s leadership when most of the Western seats were captured by UPND in the 2001 general elections, but currently, based on the results of the 2006 election, the party holds only one of the 17 constituencies in Western Province.

Dr Scott said eventually, UPND was given Luena to contest on the grounds that PF would be busy in Ndola and on the basis of the PF being given the next seat to come up for the contestation in the West.

“UPND must be ruing the day it ‘won’ the argument about who should contest Luena.

The constituency fell vacant when Charles Milupi formed his new party ADD and thus abandoned his independent status and automatically vacated his seat in Parliament.

“As a Lozi induna, he quite possibly had chunks of the Barotse Royal Establishment – particularly at the level of the village headmen organising for him; he also appears to have chunks of money at his command.

He won with 50 percent of the vote; MMD trailed him with 30 percent and UPND came with a mere 20 percent, despite the presence of Hakainde himself and a strong campaign team,” he said.

Dr Scott said the theory that UPND was going to sweep up Western Province was well and truly punctured! Consequentially also destroyed, or at least damaged, was the wishful scenario drawn up in some minds of the UPND quickly closing the gap between its popular support and that of PF – with the logical consequence that ‘HH’ would then have a legitimate claim to be the pact presidential candidate in 2011.

In 2008 presidential elections which is the last comprehensive ‘opinion poll’ held in the country, PF scored roughly twice as many constituencies. The erosion of the PF support in the Copperbelt and the rebirth of UPND in the West were indispensable parts of the catch-up scenario – and neither happened.

The conclusion is that the popularity rating of PF countrywide by any measure, is still approximately twice that of UPND. That the two parties together can still wipe out MMD by marshalling 60 percent of the vote against it remains a matter of simple arithmetic (20+40=60).

But the subplot of UPND expanding and or PF shrinking so that parity is achieved between the two parties – with the implied leadership contest -seems very remote as of the last week’s elections results, Dr Scott wrote.

[ Zambia Daily Mail ]