Africa-Press – Zambia. Opposition Patriotic Front candidate in the Kabushi parliamentary by-election Bowman Lusambo’s nomination has been rejected. Electoral Commission of Zambia –ECZ- Kabushi by-election returning officer Elias Mwalaba informed Mr. Lusambo that the nomination was invalid following the nullification of the seat he was vying for, making him ineligible to contest the seat.
And speaking to journalists after his nomination was rejected, Mr. Lusambo said he will fight this decision until his face appears on the ballot paper on 15th September 2022.
And PF Ndola District Chairman Benjamin Chitondo says the next course of action will be communicated before the end of the day after consultation with top party leadership.
Earlier, UPND candidate in the Kabushi by-election Bernard Kanengo successfully filed in his nominations, making him the only one to file in his nominations out of the 6 parliamentary candidates vying for the seat.
Speaking after successfully filing in the nomination, Mr. Kanengo pledged to conduct peaceful campaigns. And in Kwacha constituency in Kitwe, only the UPND candidate Charles Mulenga has so far successfully filed in his nomination for the vacant national assembly seat.
Speaking after filing his nomination at river rain combined school in Kitwe, Mr. Mulenga declared himself the strongest candidate among those contesting for the seat and has pledged to enhance agriculture, job creation and the welfare of residents in Kwacha constituency.
Earlier, Leadership Movement candidate Professor Oliver Silumbe, who was scheduled to file his nomination at 9:00 hours, could not complete the process by 10 hours due to lack of certified copies of his voters card and National Registration Card.
He is expected to return later to complete the process while National Democratic Congress-NDC- candidate Nicholas Chali stormed out of the nomination center saying his slot was rescheduled to 14:50 hours.
Meanwhile, the opposition Patriotic Front is scheduled to present its candidate Joseph Malanji for nomination at 14:00 hours today, amidst ongoing controversy regarding his eligibility, whose seat was nullified.
In a related development, UPND spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa has charged that the decision by the socialist Party to back the PF in the forthcoming Kabushi and Kwacha Constituency by-elections is due to the failure by the opposition political party to find a competitive candidate to stand on its ticket.
Addressing the media in Lusaka today, Mr. Mweetwa who has challenged the socialist party to tell the nation the real reasons for supporting the PF, wonders how the party can support PF which it recently said was the most corrupt party in the country.
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