Regional voting here to stay – petitioner

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 12:25:19 +0000

By Mailesi Banda

REGIONAL voting has been part of the Zambian political landscape for a long time and that there is need for the country to learn from other countries that embrace their differences and work towards a common goal, a church leader has said.

“We are not the first country in the world to have a regional voting pattern; in South Africa a man who is not Zulu cannot stand in Zululand because they will not be voted for but they have accepted the situation,’’  Assemblies of God  Fellowship pastor Charles Mwape said.

He was submitting before the Commission of Inquiry on voting patterns and political violence in Lusaka yesterday.

On violence, he submitted that leaders must respect the will of the people and stop being selfish and ‘‘put the country above all emotions’’.

Pastor Mwape also said the republican Constitution should provide that a political party must have national character if it were allowed to contest in an election.

He said there was need to hold elections starting from the provinces to ascertain the popularity of the party.

“Anyone in future elections who wins must have majority votes in six provinces and this should be through the political parties gaining popularity in respective provinces,’’ he said.

“It is important that leaders prepare their support in the event of a loss; this would enable them accept the outcomes of an election,’’ he said.

Poor People’s Party president Alex Muliokela said the people most affected by the violence were the poor, adding that the rich were pushing their interests at the expense of poor Zambians.