NANCY SIAME, PRISCILLA MWILA, Lusaka

THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has won the Sokontwe and Liangati local government by-elections in Milenge and Senanga districts, respectively. And the UPND says the late Kabwata Member of Parliament Levy Mkandawire’s memory should be honoured by returnig the seat to the ruling party. In Sokontwe, UPND’s Charles Safeli polled 611 votes against his closest rival Rabby Kunda of the Socialist Party with 516 votes
Patriotic Front’s (PF) Morgan Chansa obtained 147 votes while Patrick Chola, an independent, secured 10. Milenge returning officer Tom Mwansabamba declared Mr Safeli duly elected in Thursday’s poll. And Mr Safeli has pledged to deliver on his campaign promises to develop the ward.
The Sokontwe seat fell vacant after the resignation of an independent councillor, Vincent Kunda, last year. The governing party has also won the Liangati local government by-election in Senanga. The seat fell vacant following the death of UPND councillor Mwangala Sililo who was killed by unknown people last year. UPND’s Nyambe Nyambe secured 1,085 votes while his sole competitor Imbula Lubinda of the PF got 172. UPND national chairperson Stephen Katuka thanked the electorate for voting for the party. Mr Katuka said the victory shows that people have immense confidence in the UPND. He said the PF is no longer a factor in Zambian politics. And UPND secretary general Batuke Imenda said it would be shocking to lose the Kabwata seat when the new regime won the general election. Mr Imenda said this yesterday when he received Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) members led by their vice-president Leonard Hikaumba to form a campaign pact for the Kabwata by-election. He said the UPND candidate Andrew Tayengwa is the right person for Kabwata because he understands the sufferings of Kabwata residents. Mr Imenda urged Zambians to be patient with the ruling party because it has a lot of work to do to repair what was allegedly destroyed by the previous administration. And Mr Hikaumba said MDC decided to work with the UPND because it has the best interest of Zambians at heart. Mr Tayengwa will ensure that development is equally shared among the five wards in Kabwata. Meanwhile, STEVEN MVULA reports that the only female contender in the Kabwata parliamentary by-election, Engiwe Mzyece, of UNIP, says if elected, she will focus on the proper use of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to benefit all residents. Democratic Party candidate Fred Mubanga is excited that ‘finally’ he has been given an opportunity to contest the by-election.
Due to factions in the DP, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) previously barred CLICK TO READ MORE