THE ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has quashed allegations by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) that their Solwezi West parliamentary by-election candidate has gone into hiding for fear of being abducted by PF members. THE ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has quashed allegations by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) that their Solwezi West parliamentary by-election candidate has gone into hiding for fear of being abducted by PF members.
PF secretary general Davies Chama urged the MMD not to accuse the PF of any criminal acts regarding their candidate adding that the MMD had no candidate in Solwezi West.
Mr. Chama explained that the PF believed in clean and violence free politics.
“If that’s what they used to do when they were in power, they should not imagine that the PF is doing it as well,” he said. “If the MMD does not have a candidate for the by-election, it is better they pull out rather than making such allegations … PF members in solwezi have confirmed with me that there is nothing of that sort happening there … the MMD just don’t have a candidate.”
And PF deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri told the Lusaka Star in a phone interview that the allegations made against the PF by the MMD were untrue and unfounded.
“Look who is talking, is the candidate they have adopted any popular, is he known by the people? The MMD should just try very hard not to alarm the country on a situation that is not even there,” she lamented.
Meanwhile, MMD spokesperson Raphael Nakacinda accused the PF of resorting to dirty politics because the current situation in solwezi west favoured the MMD in terms of winning the upcoming by-election.
“The patriotic front sent a group of people to our parliamentary candidate to try and abduct him,” he claimed. “As MMD, we want to warn the PF to stop this nonsense of dirty politicking, if they succeed in abducting our candidate false-fully so as to stop him from filing the nomination, there will be no nomination today,” he said.
He urged the PF to let all political parties participate in the nomination and by-election without any interference because they (MMD) did not interfere with their (PF) candidates.
Mr. Nakacindan also accused the PF of using crooked methods to advance their political interest.
“Let’s have people who represent us at whatever level be chosen on merit, not on condition of who was more crooked or violent,” he said.
The Solwezi West seat fell vacant following the death of MMD’s Humphrey Mwanza.
MMD should not accuse PF of any criminal acts regarding their missing Solwezi West candidate – Chama
