Opposition party splits

Zambia’s opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) is headed for a split as former first vice-president John Mulwila, 10 other national management committee (NMC) members and over 200 cadres are expected to resign from the party, the government-owned ‘Daily Mail’ said on Thursday. According to he newspaper, Mulwila is expected to hold a press conference at his home in Kalundu when he is expected to announce his future plans.

Meanwhile, national trustee Masautso Lulanga was quoted as saying that there would be mass resignations in “due course” because of the unpatriotic manner the party was being run. Lulanga said it was not good for him to continue in a political party that lacked transparency and was allegedly “rife” with tribal politics and corruption.

In a separate development, reports on Thursday quoted a polling officer as saying that members of Zambia’s ruling party the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) had intimidated opposition supporters and confiscated their voter cards in the run-up to two parliamentary by-elections next month.
Nancy Muyunda, spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) was quoted as saying that the commission had received complaints that some members of the MMD had been harassing opposition supporters ahead of the by-elections on 6 September. “We wish to categorically state that it is an offence to obtain another person’s voters card,” she told a news conference. Police have promised to investigate the allegations, Muyunda said.

She said the newly formed opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) filed a complaint with the commission. “The commission wishes to caution the general public, that they should not surrender their voters’ cards to anyone and should report any such persons wishing to obtain voters’ cards from the public to the police,” she said. FDD spokesman Fisho Mwale was quoted by AFP as saying that MMD members were going door-to-door threatening people who support the opposition.