29 August 2008
MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba has revealed that one official aspiring to stand as the party's presidential candidate is spending colossal sums of money to buy support contrary to the code of conduct.
Dr Kalumba said in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday that other aspirants had created a political block calling itself "the most western Rhodesia", which has the danger of undermining the Constitution.
He said his office had instituted investigations on the two issues which threaten to bring the name of the ruling party into disrepute and create a crisis in the party.
"There is information that the sources of such funds may create problems for the party and the quantum of money expended clearly indicates efforts to corrupt the electoral process within the party," he said.
On the political block, Dr Kalumba said any groupings based on ethnic or regional lines had the tendency of splitting the party.
"Some aspirants have created a political block calling itself the most western Rhodesia group which has the effect of undermining Article 2 of our Constitution that abhors all forms of discriminatory tendencies including regionalism and tribalism," he said.
On the on-going debate as to who could have been anointed by the late President Mwanawasa, Dr Kalumba said that Dr Mwanawasa had emphatically told the national executive committee that he would not do so.
Dr Kalumba said that the late party president had said that anointing an heir apparent to the position could be a serious offence and that the person chosen would be elected at the convention.
"In this respect, I do not believe as national secretary that President Mwanawasa, who was a strong believer in democracy, would have left a political will on succession in the party.
"Therefore, this debate, if it is drawing our late president on preferred candidate is morally, politically, constitutionally, unwarranted and must stop," he said.
Dr Kalumba said his office would not hesitate to disqualify anybody using either corrupt methods or misinformation to secure advantage in their favour.
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