Tue, 10 Jan 2017 08:55:14 +0000
By ROGERS KALERO
THE UPND and its leader Hakainde Hichilema is dead scared of yet again being trounced by President Edgar Lungu and that is why they are against the Head of State contesting the presidency in the 2021 general elections even when he is eligible, Patriotic Front (PF) Copperbelt provincial youth chairman Nathan Chanda has charged.
And Mr Chanda has said President Lungu was eligible to stand in 2021 and that Copperbelt youths were supporting his candidature for 2021 because he had demonstrated maturity, humbleness and has been a caring leader from the time he ascended to the presidency.
Mr Chanda, who is also Luanshya mayor, said UPND was protesting President Lungu’s eligibility for the 2021 elections because they had realized that the Head of State was a strong candidate capable of defeating Hakainde Hichilema for the third consecutive time.
The youth chairman was reacting to a statement by UPND secretary general Stephen Katuka who called for mass demonstrations in the country if President Lungu would be a presidential candidate for the PF in 2021.
Mr Katuka claimed that the republican Constitution does not allow President Lungu to stand for a third term, having been elected twice as President even though the first one was for only two years following the death of president Michael Sata.
Mr Chanda explained that the UPND’s objection against President Lungu’s intention to contest the presidency in 20121 was not so much about constitutionalism but about the ‘‘fear factor’’ that had gripped the opposition party leadership over the prospects of losing again. Mr Chanda said Mr Katuka should be the last person to talk about the Constitution because the leadership in his party had failed to follow its constitution and had never gone to a convention to elect new leaders.
He said instead of exercising democracy and following the constitution, the UPND had been exhibiting dictatorial tendencies by imposing themselves on its membership.
“One wonders what kind of a constitution UPND has, where one person has always been standing as presidential candidate for five times. The party has never gone to a convention to elect new leaders.
So given this scenario, I think Mr Katuka is the wrong person to talk about the issues of the constitution when his party does not follow the constitution.
“What is wrong with Mr Katuka? Instead of protesting against Mr Hichilema who has been contesting the republican presidency for five years and losing, he is protesting against President Lungu’s eligibility. This just goes to show that UPND is scared of President Lungu,” Mr Chanda said.
And Mr Chanda has said President Lungu was eligible to stand in 2021 and that Copperbelt youths were supporting his candidature for the next general elections and beyond 2021 because he had demonstrated maturity and humbleness. He said the youths had announced their solidarity and endorsement of President Lungu, adding that the support for the Head of State was cross-cutting from the branches, wards, constituencies, districts and provinces.
Mr Chanda said President Lungu deserved another term in office because he has demonstrated statesmanship and maturity in the manner he was governing the country.
