ITS NOT PROPER FOR A PARLIAMENTARIAN TO TAKE UP PARTY PRESIDENCY – PATRICK SAMWIMBILA

There has been suggestions, self declarations, reports in some sections of the media and schemes by some PF Members of Parliament posturing to take over the Party Presidency from President Edgar Chagwa Lungu. I seriously object to this, and sincerely, with no any iota of malice advice my comrades in Parliament to shelve these ambitions for now.

I am aware there is no law or indeed any standing orders that prohibit a person to be both an MP and Party President BUT best practice and logic demands and expects us to emulate the theory of Separation of Powers even at intraparty politics level.

Unless we are further proposing that once elected party president, such a member would then relinquish their seat in Parliament. Again to this I say no because I don’t subscribe to the idea of creating unnecessary by- elections.

The plain truth is; it’s not in order for a big party like the Patriotic Front to have a president who is still committed to constituency politics and responsibilities for a period way over 4 years because definitely one role would suffer. Let’s leave the voices in the House intact and louder for which they already are and I salute them for that. The task we have as a party now is to search among the other senior members of the party outside the House for the position of party president. We are not short of capable men and women to replace President ECL. To this effect, in my next article I will be giving my personal view and endorsement of the next PF president.