By JULIUS PHIRI –

PETAUKE Central is one of the three constituencies in Petauke District of Eastern Province.
The constituency borders Kapoche and Msanzala constituencies on one side and on the other are Nyimba and Sinda constituencies.
The Nsenga-speaking people are the dominant tribe while Chewas and other tribes have also trekked to the area in search of greener pastures.
The constituency cuts across three Nsenga chiefdoms of Chief Kalindawalo and Chief Mumbi. The constituency is home to Tuwimba traditional ceremony.
As the campaigns hot up in the entire constituency ahead of the June 30, 2015 parliamentary by-election, the area has become a hive of activity as political parties try to woo eligible voters.
Three candidates from the Patriotic Front (PF), United Party for National Development (UPND) and United National Independence Party (UNIP) are jostling for the parliamentary seat which has been vacant for the past two years after the courts nullified the election of former Member of Parliament (MP) Dora Siliya who had contested the seat on MMD ticket.
The three aspirants who successfully filed their nominations include the past MP, Ms Siliya who is now re-contesting the seat under the ruling PF ticket, UPND’s candidate Allan Zulu and UNIP who have floated Ignatius Phiri.
The parliamentary candidates are currently selling themselves to 116,498 voters in seven wards of Petauke Central constituency.
The wards are Msumbazi, Ongolwe, Kovyane, Mbala, Nsimbo, Nyika and Chilimanyama.
The three candidates have expressed confidence that they will scoop the parliamentary seat which was supposed to be defended by the MMD which opted not to participate in the parliamentary by-election.
Mr Phiri of UNIP said he would scoop the seat although he would not underrate any of his opponents.
The 62-year-old teacher-cum –politician said he was geared for the election.
“I will not underrate my opponents and I will accept the results,”Mr Phiri who was accompanied to the nomination centre by UNIP Provincial Chairperson Donald Sakala explained.
He said once voted into office he would focus on promoting agricultural activities which he claimed had dwindled.
He alleged that the previous representative had failed to attend to the road network and the promotion of education.
“People of Petauke Central should be educated and once I am elected MP on June 30th I will ensure that I prioritise education so that we can have a literate constituency,” Mr Phiri said.
He said the people of Petauke Central were looking for better schools and health facilities.
And Ms Siliya said she was grateful and humbled to be adopted as PF candidate so that she could offer leadership to the people of Petauke Central.
The former Cabinet minister in the MMD regime who was flanked by her campaign manager Susan Kawandami said she was happy to re-contest the seat under the PF ticket.
“I am confident that the people will vote for me so that we continue with the development programmes. Of course there are still some challenges but we will explain to the people what we will do,” Ms Siliya who was accompanied by Msanzala MP Colonel Joseph Lungu and Shiwang’andu MP Stephen Kampyongo said.
“We want to show that this is a no-go area for the opposition and the people have spoken that they want the PF and President (Edgar) Lungu,” she said.
Ms Siliya assured that once elected into office she would address the challenges facing the people of Petauke Central.
Ms Kawandami who is Lands deputy minister said the by-election would be a walkover for the ruling party because Ms Siliya had laid a good foundation in the constituency.
She said the MMD did not ‘exist’ in Petauke. She said the ruling party was not scared of the parliamentary by-election.
“The PF has already won the election as you can see. We have received a lot of support in Petauke Central. So we are not worried at all,” she said.
But Mr Zulu of the UPND said he would become the next MP for Petauke Central.
Mr Zulu who is a business executive said he was optimistic of scooping the parliamentary by-election.
He said it was sad that since independence water and sanitation had always been a problem in Petauke Central.
He said he was going to prioritise the improvement of the road network and bridges which he described as being in a bad state.
Mr Zulu who was accompanied by a number of UPND officials said it was unfortunate that people in the rural area were lacking a number of social amenities. He said he would work hard to reverse the situation once elected MP.
He pledged to work to the best of his ability to uplift the living standards of the people.
In a few days’ time, the people of Petauke Central are going to be lining up at the 201 streams to choose a person whom they think can uplift and represent them in the National Assembly.