By NATION REPORTER
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) should disqualify UPND Parliamentary Candidate for Kanyama Constituency for perpetuating violence, Democracy and Motherland Defenders Coalition (DMDC) has said.
DMDC spokesperson Andrew Ntewewe called on the ECZ to stop violence by disqualifying candidates whose supporters were behind the vice. He was reacting to the murder of two Patriotic Front (PF) members by thugs believed to be UPND cadres in Lusaka’s Kanyama compound.
“We call on ECZ to disqualify candidates where violence is taking place. It is sad that ECZ would just ban campaigns in Nkeyema and Sioma without any appropriate action being taken. So we call on ECZ directly to disqualify the Kanyama UPND candidate. We cannot sit back and talk about violence and simply condemn violence without any action,” Mr Ntwewe said.
Mr Ntewewe also said that criminals behind the said murders, including their sponsors must be brought to book without further delay. He said ECZ cannot sit back and simply ban campaigns and watch while citizens are being killed in cold blood.
“But for us we want to appeal to ECZ and put it on recorded that is it important that criminals of these gruesome murders must be brought to book without any further delay and that candidates who have turned themselves into warlords, threatening the lives of our citizens, must be disqualified,” he said.
Meanwhile, PF national chairperson Samuel Mukupa has advised the public not to vote for a political party that is violent.
Mr Mukupa said violence has no place in Zambia because it was known for its peaceful nature.
He said President Edgar Lungu was saddened by the killings and has sent a message of condolences to the families of the two PF members.
