Three political parties in Lusangazi District of Eastern Province have confirmed interest to participate in the fourth coming Lusangazi Council Chairperson by- elections slated for November 4th, 2022.
The four political parties that have shown interest to contest the Lusangazi Council Chairperson election are the Socialist Party, United Party for National Development, (UPND) and the Patriotic Front Party (PF).
Speaking to the media in a telephone interview, Socialist Party member of the Central Committee Kelvin Phiri says his party has already received two application letters from aspiring candidates vying to be adopted to contest in the Lusangazi Council Chairperson by-election.
Mr Phiri, however, stated that the party is yet to make a final decision on which candidate to adopt.
He explained that the Socialist Party has a fertile political ground in Lusangazi as the party members have been working hard on the ground and it is confident that the party’s would-be candidate will carry the day in the elections.
“As a party, we have so far received two application letters from those aspiring to contest the seat and we are yet to make a decision on which candidate to file in but what I can say right now is that our structures are intact in Lusangazi and we have been working tirelessly so we will carry the day on the 4th of November,” he said.
And the UPND Lusangazi District Chairperson George Lungu said in a separate interview that five people have so far applied for adoption on the UPND ticket and that the party will soon reveal the chosen candidate to the public.
Mr Lungu further explained that the party is confident of scooping the Lusangazi Council Chairperson’s seat.
“We are ready as the UPND party to contest this seat and the candidate that will become the next council Chairperson for this Town. The UPND Government has worked hard in various developmental sectors in Lusangazi and all our structures are intact,” he said.
Meanwhile, Patriotic Front Party Eastern Province Information and Publicity Secretary William Phiri stated that his Party has so far received 15 applications from people wanting to be adopted on the PF ticket.
Mr Phiri explained that the number of applications received from the aspiring candidates is evident enough that the party is still popular because people still have interest in the opposition political party and that it will return the Lusangazi Council Chairperson seat.
“The political ground for the PF in Lusangazi is strong as you can see from the number of applications that we have received and I can assure you that we are returning the Lusangazi Council Chairperson seat come November 4th,” he said.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has set November 4th, 2022 as the date to hold three Council Chairpersons and 18 ward councillor by-elections due to deaths, nullification of elections and resignations.
Lusanagzi is among the districts going to the polls on November 4th, 2022 after the Council Chairpersons seat fell vacant following the constitutional court upholding the decision of the Election Tribunal that nullified the election of Patrick Banda of the Patriotic Front as the Council Chairperson for Lusangazi.
Losing Lusangazi Council Chairperson, UPND’s Fred Banda had petitioned winning candidate, Patrick Banda on allegations that he was illegally in the office as he did not have a Grade 12 school certificate.
