UPND leader Hakainde Hichiema says it will be unfair to bar losing candidates from recontesting the elections because PF is fond of stealing votes.

Speaking when he featured on Q-TV programme on Sunday, Hichilema also said that his party would bring in better policies for farmers once he forms government.

And Hichilema said his party could not be compared with PF because PF lacked quality.

Reacting to Chifubu PF member of parliament Frank Ng’ambi who is expected to present a private Bill to parliament which seeks to bar any person from recontesting the election more than three times, Hichilema said the proposal was against the Constitution.

“Today we hear stories that a fellow from Ndola who will speak to parliament that we need to bar HH from running into office, I mean we experienced that in 2015 and 2016 and then you say no no no, HH has run a couple of times and so we should bar him. The Constitution doesn’t say so, he doesn’t even know the provisions of the Constitution. Why is he saying that? He knows that they stole our votes in 2015 and 2016 so they can now claim that HH has run several times. We want a truly independent electoral commission. What else do we need? We need governance to work and fairness in our country; we need to restore the rule of law so that court judgement can be respected. The PF doesn’t respect court judgement,” Hichilema said.

Hichilema charged that people in State House had stolen over US$700 million from public finances.
“People in State House have stolen way over US$700 million of your money, of the marketeers money who has died out of cholera. Part of that money could have been invested in the supply of inputs and water sanitation. Today people who didn’t even know how to build a small house, they are now building all over the show. Everywhere where there is a construction, it belongs to people in State house, it belongs to Lungu’s friend, this is criminal. It’s very clear that money is being stolen out of corruption by these petty thieves,” Hichilema said.

He said his party could not be compared with PF because the ruling party lacked quality.

“When people say how do you compare UPND policies and capacity and PF? I can’t see any comparison because there is no comparison, PF has no quality, it’s a chipante-pante.

Meanwhile Hichilema said because of PF’s negligence and lack of vision, a lot of lives had been lost during the cholera outbreak.

He added that cholera in Zambia was ‘celebrated’ like an annual traditional ceremony.

“PF did nothing from September to October, to contain the cholera because if PF had worked the way UPND would want to work and to be proactive, we wouldn’t have not lost so many lives, innocent lives. They would have put measures in place to contain the cholera outbreak. We can’t have a country where cholera is celebrated like an annual traditional ceremony where we expect cholera every year and do nothing on account that there is no money,” he said.

“PF are negligent and because of their negligent we have lost lives. Where there is no vision, no leadership, people perish. This is exactly why innocent citizens are perishing, arising from the actions of visionary leadership. There is no leadership [and] that is not contested anymore. Any ordinary citizen knows that there is no leadership. Even those who used to dance dununa reverse, you know some of these slogans, [and] how can you think in a reverse way? You cannot expect progress when you are thinking in a reverse way. They say ‘think backward’ and we say think forward.”

Hichilema also listed some of the new policies that his party would come with when elected.

“Under the UPND policies, there would be farmer inputs. Number two, we will offer a fair price for them to continue farming because that is the back bone of economic food, no one goes to work without food so we will offer them decent prices. Number three, we will pay the farmers on time. We will also, as UPND, support farmers with irrigation capabilities so that in the period of drought, the farmer crops can survive. And that is why in Eastern Province, PF have got a new name now. Instead of being called Patriotic Front, they are called ‘Paya Farmer’ that is what easterners call them and I think as a country we must adopt that name,” Hichilema said.

The opposition leader said President Edgar Lungu had confessed to Zambians that he had stolen an election twice.

“Somebody a few days ago confessed that he stole an election. In his own voice Mr Lungu himself was addressing a small crowd; he forgot that these days you can’t say anything without being heard by others. He was heard verbatim, video clips saying they (PF) were voted in 2015, 2016 but refused to leave office and they are still here. And he was mocking people that you should live to accept me because even in 2021 even if you vote me out, I will not go. What message did he send? He sent a message that he stole our election [in] 2015, 2016 and he refused to hear the petition because he knows the evidence is clear that he lost that election,”said Hichilema.