1 September 2008
THE MMD in Lusaka has endorsed the candidature of Vice President Rupiah Banda as the presidential candidate in the forthcoming presidential by-election with more joining in the calls.
MMD Lusaka Province secretary, Cleophas Chimembe said in a letter to the party's national secretary Katele Kalumba that the provincial executive committee supported the application of Mr Banda as the most preferred candidate.
"We further state with conviction that Mr Banda is the right candidate for the job and we acknowledge the respect and confidence the late beloved President Mwanawasa had in him by appointing him to the office of vice president," he said.
He said the decision had been taken after considering that as vice president he had the capacity to campaign throughout the country and that he was the most preferred candidate.
And former deputy ambassador to Ethiopia, Wendy Sinkala has said that it is disappointing that there were many contenders in the MMD for the forthcoming presidential by-election instead of giving support to Mr Banda.
Ms Sinkala said the vice president worked very closely with the late president and would therefore not depart from the policies initiated by Dr Mwanawasa.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Ms Sinkala said like Dr Mwanawasa, Mr Banda was is a visionary leader and would therefore be able to continue on the same economic path.
Ms Sinkala said that during the president's illness and subsequent death, Mr Banda managed to handle the affairs of the country well.
Zambia's former ambassador to Mozambique, George Chulumanda warned that the MMD risked losing the presidential by-election if it did not handle the succession of President Mwanawasa cautiously.
Mr Chulumanda suggested that other aspirants withdrew their candidature and give chance to Mr Banda.
He said that it was important that the entire MMD supported Mr Banda in the presidential by-election.
With Mr Banda as the party's candidate, Mr Chulumanda said that the MMD would not depart from the policies of Dr Mwanawasa.
Mr Chulumanda said that it was important for the party to continue with the policies of Dr Mwanawasa saying Mr Banda was the most capable candidate to lead the MMD.
In another development, the Bemba Royal Establishment in Northern Province has disassociated itself from a statement issued by the Ituna Traditional Committee urging the MMD to adopt Finance Minister, Ngandu Mangande as the presidential candidate.
Senior Chief Mwamba told ZANIS in a telephone interview in Kasama that the Bemba Royal establishment was disappointed with the statement issued by Francis Chikwanka who claimed to represent the Ituna traditional Committee.
The senior chief said it was taboo in the Bemba culture to start talking about succession when the body of the one to be succeeded had not yet been buried.
He added that police have since launched investigations to establish whether the Ituna Traditional Committee, which Mr Chikwanda was claiming to represent was legally registered under the Societies Act.
The Chief said as far as the Bemba Royal establishment was concerned, the Ituna Traditional Committee was disbanded immediately after the succession wrangles of Paramount Chief Chitimukulu's chieftainship were resolved.
Senior Chief Mwamba also said it was not the responsibility of the Bemba royal establishment to choose a candidate for the MMD as it was the sole responsibility of the national executive committee.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Could this be a crisis?
By Pezzy Kudakwashe USA
Zambia has found herself at the crossroads, maybe a crisis even a dilemma. I am not fully convinced the three people who will contest the upcoming presidential elections are the best Zambia has got. I mean the three contestants, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, Mr Michael Sata and Mr Rupiah Banda. What even turns this scenario into a nightmare is the fact that somebody has alluded that the vultures have closed in the MMD camp.
Fellow Zambians this allegation is huge, to call somebody a vulture is like pointing a loaded gun in… [Read Full Text]