GRASSROOTS members of the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) have rejected former Health minister Nkandu Luo, who is PF leader Michael Sata’s preferred candidate for Munali Constituency to take over from incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Mumbi Phiri who has also not been interviewed because of opposition from the members.
The development comes a few days after some PF members of the central committee told the Times that PF members in Munali Constituency had also rejected former Chongwe MMD MP Sylvia Masebo, whom Mr Sata wanted to impose on them after the people of Chongwe preferred Geoffrey Chumbwe.
Kalingalinga Ward chairperson Emmerson Mbewe and Munali Ward 3 chairperson Theresa Changachanga said all the wards and constituency officials in Munali Constituency had resolved to back former PF national youth chairperson, Erick Chanda who won the adoptions conducted last week and would not accept imposed candidates.
And PF insiders said yesterday Mr Sata allegedly organised special interviews specifically and exclusively for Professor Luo at the party secretariat in Villa Elizabetha, which they found strange and undemocratic.
Prof Luo was interviewed on Sunday by the constituency, district and provincial executive committees after she missed the scheduled interviews last week where six candidates were
interviewed.
Those interviewed last week included Paul Bupe, Ricky Mhone, former UNIP secretary general Alfred Banda, a Ms Kaluba, a Mr Nkole and Mr Chanda won the primaries.
"On Mumbi Phiri, we decided as constituency and ward officials that she must be dealt with by the central committee because she is not wanted here.
"Besides she is a central committee member so our leaders should deal with her," the officials said.
And Ms Changachanga said the party was headed for a serious defeat should Mr Sata impose Prof Luo on the people of Munali because the MMD had adopted a strong candidate, Majory Mwape.
"Erick is our preferred candidate because we have worked with him for many years and he knows how to work with people. If they want to lose let them bring Nkandu Luo. We will campaign for her because we are members but chances of winning are very slim," she said.
Munali Constituency youth chairperson, Felix Chewe said Prof Luo was not wanted in Munali and that some members on the ground had threatened to resign and join other political parties if Mr Chanda was not adopted.
The PF leadership is expected to announce the list of its adopted candidates before the end of this week or next week and the delays have been caused by poor response in some constituencies mainly in Western, North-Western and Southern provinces.
In Mandevu Constituency, Joseph Mwansa beat the rest of the applicants but the ward officials feared that Mr Sata may want to impose incumbent MP Jean Kapata whom the grassroots had rejected.
Others who applied for adoption in Mandevu Constituency but were left out were Patrick Katyoka and a Mr Banda.
In Lumezi Constituency, Mr Sata’s preferred candidate, Clement Mwale lost the primary elections to a local business executive Ezekiel Lukhanda while former Zambia Federation of Employers president George Chabwera also lost to a business executive, Evans Ngoma.
When the list was taken to the provincial executive committee in Chipata, the applicants who were preferred by the constituency officials were unsuccessful.
But Mandevu MP Jean Kapata said as far as she was concerned the party leadership had not announced the list of the selected candidates and the official results were unknown while Ms Phiri (Mumbi) declined to comment, saying she was actually surprised that she received a telephone call from the Times of Zambia, before she hang up.
"You know I am surprised that you have called me because I told you people that I do not talk to people from the public media. Thank you," she said.
But impeccable sources from the central committee said the confusion which had marred the PF adoption process had worried Mr Sata.
"If you remember very well, it is now close to one year since the PF adoption process started. We started early last year when the party leadership invited applications from interested members in all the constituencies.
"That was long before even the MMD and United Party for National Development (UPND) started their adoption process but to date nothing concrete has come out. We are in trouble," they said.
And the names for UPND selected candidates have been forwarded to the party’s national management committee for final scrutiny.
UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said yesterday the party had almost completed its adoption exercise of both parliamentary and local government candidates who would stand in various constituencies during this year’s polls."So far, we have done what we call primary levels which involve councillors and MPs. We have done the selection process and interviews.
"The names of selected candidates have since been forwarded to our national management committee," Mr Kakoma said.
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