UPND Is Still People’s choice-Katuka…If polls were held today, PF will be history
18.09.2017
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTE
As the biggest political party in the country, we wish to thank all our electorates for their increased confidence in the party even when the by- elections were held under a threatened state of emergency.
We also wish to warn the Patriotic Front against their undemocratic ways of running elections by way of violence .
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It is regrettable that even after a call for dialogue, PF could take thugs to Chimanja ward in Chilanga Constituency to attack UPND members and later on took thugs to attack our electorates in Zambezi East for them win elections at all cost.
As a party, we held these elections under difficult circumstances due to the declaration of the threatened state of emergency under article 31 of the constitution of Zambia.
It is for the above reason that we wrote the Electoral Commission of Zambia to consider postponing by-elections as the playing field was not going to be leveled.
PF and Police insisted that they were going to address all sorts of undemocratic activities we envisaged.
True to our position, PF thugs attacked the electorates in Chimanja in Chilanga and brutally attacked our people and MP in Zambezi East just to win elections at all cost.
Regardless of all the advantages that PF had with article 31 and the police on their side, we won elections in our strongholds .
While the PF won in their strongholds , UPND performed exceptionally well in PF strongholds by increasing the number of votes compared to the previous election in 2016.
In addition to increased performance, UPND performed well in areas even where we did not send senior party officials to campaign.
The nation may be aware also that election campaigns came at the verge of the release of our president Hakainde Hichilema.
We wish to put it on record that, the PF transported DCs and Ministers in Liuwa and Zambezi East to cause confusion and threatened the electorates just to win elections at all cost.
This violence defranchised many electorates as could be seen by the low voter turnout out in Chilanga and Zambezi East.
Many of us may be aware that the police as usual failed to curb violence in Chilanga and Zambezi East for political reasons.
We also wish to warn PF Secretary General Davis Mwila to desist from making careless, immoral and unethical statements over what he terms as PF better performance when he knows the election was held under article 31 and that police were on the PF side as per general practice.
PF is finished and Davies Mwila should not cheat himself.
More PF senior members will leave PF and join the UPND.
Mwila should not deceive himself about the PF popularity.
For example ,in Chimanja there are 5000 registered voters and only 900 voted. How can an informed party official like Mwila think that the remaining defranchised 4000 electorates due to violence who voted for UPND in 2016 would vote for PF?
In Zambezi East ,the PF tried to use violence so as win but failed .DCs camped at totaling center in Liuwa to try and woodwink the voters but we still won.
Let Mwila not drag the UPND leadership into the PF dirty games.
We challenge Davies Mwila to explain to the people of Zambia why his party is using DCs and public resources to campaign.
We are aware of the money that was exchanging hands in Lunte and other wards.
The UPND still remains a party of choice and there is no doubt that if general elections were to be held today, the PF would be history.
Issued by:
Stephen Katuka
UPND Secretary General