Garry Nkombo calls for a peaceful and issue based campaign in Kabwata

United Party for National Development (UPND) Chairman for Elections Garry Nkombo has called for a peaceful and issue based campaign in Kabwata Constituency ahead of the 3rd February rescheduled Parliamentary by-election.

Nine Parliamentary candidates on Wednesday successfully filed their nominations for the Kabwata parliamentary by-election slated for 3rd February 2022.

The UPND has maintained the same candidate Andrew Tayengwa, despite allegations that the party had engineered the cancellation of elections to enable them to field a different and stronger candidate in the Kabwata polls.

Speaking to UPND supporters after the nomination, Mr. Nkombo said the ruling party did not at any time think of changing its Kabwata candidate.

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development also hailed the peaceful atmosphere noted during the nominations.

“Today we have very few words. The words are that of the doom-Sayers banyala. Bamene banali ku kamba kuti tizachinja candidate banali ku nama. Very short story, some political parties, some political parties, they came and said the UPND are the ones who have engineered this breakdown in the by elections. They are the ones who have caused the stoppage, the postponement of the by-election because they want to change the candidate. Have we changed the candidate? We want to confirm here that we never at any moment thought of changing our candidate because we resolved that ourselves as a party and Andrew Tayengwa as an individual are the winning formula for Kabwata,” Mr. Nkombo said.

“Today is actually a very good day, a defining day, a defining moment where for the very first time in the short history of Patriotic Front we have not seen blood on nomination day, please clap for yourselves. Clap for yourselves again.”

“I want to encourage us to conduct a peaceful, issue based, door to door campaign until the 3rd of February when we are going to escort Mr. Tayengwa to Parliament. I want to thank you through the people of Kabwata, that the marketeers in Kabwata, the bus drivers and conductors in Kabwata, the civil servants in Kabwata have not forgotten that the cadre is no longer in charge,” Mr. Nkombo said.

Mr. Tayengwa thanked the UPND for maintaining his candidature in the Kabwata Parliamentary by-election.

He pledged to deliver victory for the UPND in Kabwata Constituency.

“Nifuna kuonga zdikomo, you the people of Kabwata have spoken but nchito iyamba lelo. We have to go back now and do door to door campaigns. As you know that Tayengwa is a grassroots man so we need to go back mu community so that tichite nchito yatu yamene tiziba,” Mr. Tayengwa said in Nyanja mixed with English.

“This is a very great day for me nionga dzikomo ku chipani kunichita re-adopt again. I want to thank the election chairman (Garry Nkombo) and the Secretary General. I will not disappoint you; I will ensure that victory is delivered to Kabwata Constituency,” he said.

This is the second time nominations for the Kabwata by-election have been held after the Electoral Commission of Zambia canceled the earlier nominations following the withdrawal from the race by former UPP candidate Francis Libanda citing Article 52 of the constitution.

Other successful candidates are Patriotic Front (PF’s) Clement Tembo, Economic and Equity Party President Chilufya Tayali, Democratic Party’s Fred Mubanga and New Heritage Party’s Kennedy Muyoya.

The rest are PeP’s Henry Muleya, United National Independence Party’s (UNIP) Engiwe Mzyece, Socialist party’s Trevor Ng’andu and People’s Alliance for Change’s Sydney Zyambo.

The Kabwata by-election was necessitated by the death of UPND’s Levy Mkandawire in November last year in a road accident.

According to the latest voters register, Kabwata Constituency has 108,729 voters of which 52,401 are males and 56,328 are females.