Thu, 15 Dec 2016 09:36:29 +0000
HAKAINDE Hichilema will still be the presidential candidate in the 2021 general elections and the UPND is therefore not considering going for a national convention to elect its new leaders, Geofferey Bwalya Mwamba has declared.
And UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has demanded for the immediate disbandment of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) because to him, the Commission was unprofessional and biased.
Mr Mwamba said there was no need for the UPND to go for a national convention next year because the opposition party was going to nominate Mr Hichilema as its presidential candidate in the next general elections.
Mr. Mwamba claimed that Mr Hichilema remained the most popular and sought for leader not only in the UPND but by all Zambians across the breadth and length of the country.
The UPND vice-president for administration said this at a media briefing at Grand Hotel in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Mwamba said Mr Hichilema was delivering to the aspirations and expectations of the UPND members and that the opposition leader was going to be allowed to hold on to his position until 2021.
“It is not necessary for our party to change leaders. Therefore, UPND will not have a national convention. Our general membership has a lot of trust and confidence in Mr Hichilema who has continued to deliver to the expectations and aspirations of the party members and Zambians in general. So our president (Hichilema) will remain the leader of the UPND beyond 2017 and until 2021,” Mr. Mwamba said.
Mr Mwamba urged party members to continue supporting the UPND leadership and Mr Hichilema as the opposition leader endeavoured to take over the governance of the country.
And Mr Hichilema has accused the ECZ of being unprofessional and has called for the disbandment of the Commission before the 2021 general elections.
Mr Hichilema has vowed that he would utilise the entire court hierarchy to get justice over his defeat at the hands of President Edgar Lungu in the last general elections. He revealed that the UPND would soon be moving a motion in Parliament to propose the disbandment of the ECZ and the formation of another commission which, according to him, would be professional and unbiased.
He accused the ECZ of being unprofessional and biased towards his party in the last elections.
“The ECZ has proved to be unprofessional and therefore, there is no need for its existence, it must be disbanded.
“There is need for the formation of another commission that would professionally oversee and govern Zambia’s electoral process,” Mr Hichilema said.
Mr. Hichilema claimed that Mozambique, Botswana, Kenya, Ghana and Gambia had demonstrated that their electoral bodies were truly autonomous and not dictated upon by the party in power. “ECZ has completely failed its mandate to run elections in Zambia because of its biasness. We need another electoral commission which is credible,” he said.
On the presidential petition, Mr. Hichilema said all hope was not lost as the UPND had gathered enough evidence to present to the court.
