MMD NEC member and vice-presidential candidate, Austin Liato, has resigned from the party, saying he cannot continue being a member of a party that is headed for extinction.

Mr Liato said he had stepped down from all MMD roles and would not take part in any activities including attending NEC meetings.

"I have nothing to do with the MMD and I will soon issue a comprehensive statement and tender in my resignation letter," Mr Liato said.

Meanwhile, MMD Deputy National Secretary, Chembe Nyangu said the party had accepted Mr Liato's resignation.

Contrary to Mr Liato's assertions, Mr Nyangu insisted that the party was still popular.

In an interview with the Times yesterday, Mr Liato denounced the MMD retreat held last week, calling it a 'Kangaroo court' which lacked thye support of the wider party membership.

He said he would also step aside from politics as he pondered his next step following the MMD's decision to disown members convicted of corruption and other charges.

Mr Liato, who once served as Labour Minister under the MMD, denounced party president, Nevers Mumba and others for convening the retreat, saying the decisions that were made at the meeting were not the views of the majority and might lead to a mass exodus from the party.

He said the decisions made at the just-ended party retreat were made by minority NEC members.

During the retreat, attended by some selected members of the NEC, decisions were made among them, to reject members who had been convicted of corruption charges in the courts.

Mr Liato is one of the members of the MMD who has been convicted of corruption charges, while several other NEC members including Dora Siliya, Moses Muteteka, Maxwell Mwale and Gabriel Namulambe, are still facing corruption related cases in the courts.

Mr Liato has appealed against his conviction after K2.1 billion was unearthed from his farm in Mwembeshi area.

Dr Mumba declared at the end of the retreat last week that he was not going to work with people who had been convicted of corruption charges.

But Mr Liato charged yesterday that it was clear that the former ruling party was "nose-diving" and that its political future was bleak.

"The decision came from the retreat and not a full NEC meeting. MMD has never been run based on retreats. The MMD is bound to suffer mass exodus in the long-run because the decisions that are being passed are going to frustrate the people at the grass roots," he said.

The former minister said NEC was the supreme organ of the party that was supposed to make decisions of the party and not a selected few members.

Another NEC member, Moses Muteteka, who also did not attend the retreat, said he was yet to study the resolutions passed at the recent meeting before he could comment.

Meanwhile, the MMD has said it was making arrangements to settle the K400 million it owed the Registrar of Societies in unpaid statutory fees.

Mr Nyangu confirmed receiving a fresh 21-days notice issued by the Registrar of Societies last week Wednesday.

Mr Nyangu said several party members, including the ones in the districts were willing to donate money to settle the outstanding arrears that the party has owed for the past 19 years now.