Opposition Citizens First leader Harry Kalaba has conceded defeat in the upcoming Pambashe parliamentary by-elections after the party’s candidate failed to successfully file his nomination.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) yesterday rejected the Citizens First and United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) backed candidate Eskaya Kayumba’s filed nomination after producing an invalid voters card.
Speaking after his candidate’s unsuccessful nomination, Kalaba consoled his party members and urged them to shift their focus to future elections.
“For now it’s okay it is not the end of the world; there is also tomorrow and this is just a by-election. We have showed the Zambian people that we are a democratic party and we want to enhance the democratic procession of our country,” Kalaba said.
Kalaba further castigated the ECZ’s failure to grant his candidate extra time to produce a valid voters card in order to file his nomination.
“If the ECZ has found it worthy that we have gone past the time they gave us, that tells you that we have an Electoral Commission of Zambia that has got to be worked on very seriously,” he lamented.
He has since urged his party members to move on from its failure in Pambashe stressing that there other candidates and parties that have shown greater interest in winning the by-election.
“Pambashe will pass because they want to win it at all cost. We have seen that everybody here has stood up for us but they had to find a reason to disqualify us. For now it is okay, we look to the next fight,” he concluded.
Pambashe constituency goes to the polls on 6th February, 2025 to elect a new Member of Parliament to replace Ronald Chitotela who has been convicted.
