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| National |
| Violence, confusion mar UDF primaries |
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by
Pilirani Semu-Banda, 01 February 2004
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19:30:42
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UDF primary elections held from Thursday have been marred by violence and confusion especially in Chikwawa, Chiradzulu and Blantyre where in some constituencies rival supporters fought and in others the elections had to be stopped midway.
In Chiradzulu East, Rose Anthony who was competing against the incumbent MP Henry Mussa said she walked out from the polling centre after her supporters broke windows and fought with Mussa’s supporters in protest against “unfair conduct by the election officials”.
Anthony said she was not informed of the primary elections in her constituency by the UDF party officials but that she only heard of them through people from her village and that when she followed up and turned up for the elections, the venue of the election was moved.
She said when she still followed the people conducting the polls, her supporters were barred from participating and that only two were allowed into the polling centres.
“I was told by the election officials to go into a toilet with Mr. Mussa so that the people choose us and I refused that. My supporters who were locked out started breaking windows and one of my two supporters started fighting with the party’s constituency chairman,” said Anthony.
But Mussa brushed aside Anthony’s concerns, saying she started causing the fracas because she knew she did not have any support.
He said she only came with two people and that when she saw that he was winning, Anthony walked out.
“In fact I was supposed to go in unopposed but Mrs. Anthony appeared from nowhere at the last minute,” said Mussa.
UDF deputy publicity secretary Mary Kaphwereza Banda accused Anthony being “overwhelmed by the event” and said that Mussa won the election genuinely.
In Chikwawa West, reports indicate that the primary elections were stopped midway following a fracas that ensued after supporters for incumbent MP Moses Dossi protested against unfair treatment from the election officials who were accused of siding with challenger John Zingale.
Constituency organising secretary Misfore Simoni said the election officials chased away some of Dossi’s supporters telling them that they had already been counted but that when the saw that Dossi was still emerging victor, they stopped the elections.
“This is when Honourable Dossi’s supporters started causing trouble and made a lot of noise up to a point when the election officials were forced to leave without continuing with the elections,” said Simoni.
But the party’s secretary general Kennedy Makwangwala said it was Dossi who “spoiled everything” when he saw that he could not win the elections.
Makwangwala also said in Mwanza East where the sitting MP is Joe Manduwa who quit UDF to join NDA, the elections were also stopped midway after the constituency committee members stopped a woman candidate from contesting.
“The constituency committee members said the woman did not ask permission from them to contest and the election had to be stopped since the woman was being stopped from contesting,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday Makwangwala said that the elections this week would only be held in constituencies where the party does not have representation in parliament but the party changed its stand, deciding to hold the primaries everywhere else except the Northern Region as they discuss with Aford on their alliance agreement.
Makwangwala indicated that the party skipped Blantyre constituencies as they had not agreed on who to field.
On Thursday, the party’s MP for Blantyre City South Elwyn Maluwa was arrested on allegations that he beat up his own constituency chairman Anthony Dimu in Zingwangwa accusing him of campaigning for his rival Jimmy Banda.
Meanwhile Osman Khembo was elected in Harry Thomson’s constituency who resigned from the UDF and joined NDA, UDF’s Director of Research George Chaponda won in the constituency being held by Lizzie Mpinganjira who also left UDF and Salim Bagus went unopposed in his Chikwawa Central Constituency.
Makwangwala said some election officials sent throughout the Central region were yet to report the results.
“All results will be clearly known after the primaries on February 9,” said Makwangwala. |
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