Edith Nawakwi challenges ECZ over campaign ban

FORUM For Democracy and Development President Edith Nawakwi has castigated the Electoral Commission of Zambia for Disfranchising her party by the decision made to ban campaigns in Lusaka and Namwala for 10 days and says the decision is irrelevant.

The FDD leader said this in Namwala after meeting her party officials at a church where Police later came after hearing that she was meeting her party officials after the service. She said the Electoral Commission of Zambia Chairperson Esau Chulu cannot just wake up 30 days after she complained to the Commission about the violence by UPND and ban the election campaign. She said the FDD aspiring Parliamentary candidate Charity Kabongomana was beaten up and had her arm broken and vehicle damaged by Moono Lubezhi the UPND aspiring candidate and ECZ has not acted on the complaint.

” We complained to ECZ about the Violence in Namwala where our candidate was beaten and had her vehicle smashed by the UPND candidate . Our candidate has had two surgeries and we have presented pictorial evidence to ECZ and after letting the UPND candidate campaign for a month. Then they want to ban campaigns and disfranchise our candidate. Esau Chulu cannot just wake up 30 days we complained and say we are banning campaigns. We wrote to ECZ to Disqualify the UPND candidate for violence but they have failed.

It’s an irrelevant decision because it may work in Lusaka but it won’t work in Namwala. The Police here have no capacity to Police this Vast Area” she said

Ms Nawakwi said the Police had earlier told their candidate that they don’t have the capacity of policing anyone campaigning and consequently the FDD candidate was attacked by UPND because she had no police protection.

She said ECZ has allowed Moono Lubezhi to campaign for a month while the FDD candidate has been hospitalised. “This decision will disadvantage our candidate and there is no way we are going to stop campaigning” she said