SINAZONGWE MP, CHATO TUMBLE IN UPND PRIMARY POLLS

GIFT Silubalo, the UPND Sinazongwe Member of Parliament has lost the Southern Province vote in the primary elections for party adoption Percy Chato, the former prisons Commissioner General, has suffered a similar fate in Bwacha constituency.

Members in the four wards of Chililalila, Makululu, Moomba, and Zambezi have vowed not to give their party President Hakainde Hichilema a vote if he goes ahead to impose a candidate on them.

According to the score sheet obtained by the Daily Nation, Mr Sialubalo lost the vote to Mr Nchimunya Siakole after the incumbent only managed to get 10 votes out of the 36 available.

However, Mr Sialubalo had won the election at ward, constituency and district levels but tumbled at the just ended provincial polls held in Chisekesi.

Mr Sialubalo is not the only incumbent

MP who has suffered defeat as Monze Central’s Jack Mwiimbu, Choma Central’s Cornelius Mweetwa, Katombora’s Derick Livune, and Livingstone’s Mathews Jere have all tumbled.

But some senior party officials familiar with the process have explained to the Daily Nation in Livingstone that winning at ward, constituency, district or province did not entail that one was automatically a candidate as the final election is at the national management committee.

The UPND officials explained that this means that all those who had tumbled still had chance of being re-adopted depending on the outcome of the top- most decision-making body.

And UPND Youth Chairperson for Chililalila ward, Steven Mwansa said members would have no choice but to vote for an independent Member of Parliament (MP) if the national management committee imposes Mr Chato.

Mr. Mwansa said during a media briefing that members were displeased with the decision to impose Mr Chato on them, a person who they did not know at the grassroot.

He said Mr Chato who has only been with the party for about four months.

“We want Mr. Yousuf Khondowe, he has been with the party here in Kabwe for a long time and he has helped strengthen the UPND in Bwacha constituency, not the one who doesn’t even stay in Kabwe,” he said. Zambezi ward chairperson, Maxwell Mutinta, said Mr Chato was not known by the people in all the four wards because he has never taken time to the people on the ground.

Mr Mutinta appealed to Mr Hichilema to rescind his decision and give the party members their preferred candidate failure to which he risked losing their vote.

“If they don’t give us the candidate we want as our MP, will vote for an independent, we don’t know Percy Chato and we don’t want him because we know he will not deliver,” he said.