.NAKACHINDA

By CHARITY MOONGA –

THE MMD has dispatched a team of national executive committee (NEC) members to Petauke, Malambo and Mulobezi constituencies to consult and ascertain the possibilities of the party successfully taking part in the three parliamentary by-elections.
MMD spokesperson Raphael Nakachinda said in an interview that the NEC members were already in the three constituencies and would avail their findings by the end of the week.
“A team of NEC members are already out there and we will get their views on the by-elections.
“If there are any contrary views on any of the three seats, we will also consider them as a party,” he said.
He said the former ruling party is working tirelessly to ensure that it contests in all the three by-elections.
He said the party is experiencing problems in Mulobezi Constituency where it’s preferred candidate is unwell and the chances of him contesting are slim.
“We are having problems in Mulobezi because our candidate is unwell. He is just about the only one who has invested in the party a lot but we are hoping that the consultations by the NEC members will get us a final response over Mulobezi,” he said.
He is, however, confident that for the other two by-elections in Eastern Province, the MMD has a lot of interested candidates and there is excitement by members on contesting on the MMD ticket.
The party will rely on the report from the dispatched NEC members.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has set Tuesday June 30, as the by-election date for the Petauke, Malambo and Mulobezi constituencies and for the Kapela and Tanganyika wards.
ECZ has also set Thursday May 28 as the date for filing in of nominations for the candidates in the three constituencies and the two wards.