According to a statement circulated yesterday by the President of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) Dr Nevers Mumba, the opposition party is concerned over the actions of the police and unfair tactics deployed by the ruling Patriotic Front party the four by-elections held on July 25.
The MMD, which won its election in Chipata but lost in Mkushi North (the United Party for National Development also won in Solwezi East and Kafulafuta), says that they “do not believe that the playing field was free and fair in these past elections.”
Although the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) took a strong stance in its citation of the PF for parading a tribal leader during its rally (which has provoked a developing scandal between Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba and the electoral authority), Dr Mumba’s statement says that PF cadres were regularly tearing down and defacing MMD advertisements without any form of punishment by the ECZ, while there have been unequal applications of law – for example, the vacating of a seat because of a church donation, which also occurred in Feira on behalf of the PF with no consequence.
The MMD statement also cites biased coverage by the state-owned broadcaster ZNBC, suggesting that “greater punitive sanctions can be implemented to prevent these unfair practices from happening in the future.”
The party says it is “is disheartened and totally dissatisfied” with the behaviour of the Zambian police during the campaigns. According to the statement, a number of violent incidences were perpetrated by the PF and reported to the police for consideration. The response was “very luke-warm or no attention was given to these complaints even when they involved the whipping of old women undertaking door to door campaigns or abductions of a Councillor and a Member of Parliament by PF Cadres.”
The statement from Dr Mumba on behalf of the MMD also congratulated voters and expressed gratitude to the supporters who came out to participate in the polls, emphasizing that the People of Zambia may be “forgiving, and are always prepared to extend a hand of trust”, but they also are quick to rise when that trust has been abused and betrayed by an ungrateful elected leadership.
“We applaud the youth of Chipata for showing great restraint in the face of great provocation from PF cadres who were bent on disrupting the electoral process and attempting to render the police ineffective,” Dr Mumba said. “We are grateful to Chipata for proving wrong those that wish to spread the falsehood that the MMD is unwanted and shall never be given the opportunity to government again.”
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