MAZABUKA Central UPND member of parliament Gary Nkombo says it is disappointing that the PF is accusing his party of trying to discredit the electoral process because such remarks reveal that they are in panic mode over next year’s general election.

Commenting on Ministry of Home Affairs Nephas Chifuta’s remarks that the Ministry was aware that the UPND and some media houses were trying to discredit the process by making citizens believe that government was giving NRCS to underage children, Nkombo wondered how government would accuse the UPND when the process was being controlled by the PF government.

“I think the process itself is discrediting and that man, the public relations officer (Chifuta), must not be encouraged to hide behind his fingers because we from the UPND have no access to their machinery, we don’t have that access. If anybody is doing stage management and they know who it is, why has it taken long for them to bring those people to book? What is the reason why they have not brought people to answer for those activities? Starting from the NRCs, the ECZ, the voter’s registration, the whole thing has just been a sham and when prosperity comes, it will judge all those people who are involved very harshly,” Nkombo said.

“The truth of the matter is that PF are in such a panic mode, even that PR person must be a PF operative for him to start naming political parties. They must be made aware that the only thing that is constant is change and we have put a mark on him, if he thinks that UPND are the ones giving children voter’s cards and NRCs without giving substantial (evidence), really, it means that he doesn’t know his job. He needs to prove to the country first of all that UPND is involved, the actual individuals and the media houses, they must be asked to explain, to be brought to account. In as far as we are concerned, those machines, those stationery, they belong to the government and the government is being run by PF right now.”

Nkombo, who is also the UPND chairperson for elections, said that the PF had compromised the electoral process because the ruling party had no confidence of winning next year’s election.

“The PF have no confidence in themselves, that is the clear demonstration that the PF are lacking confidence, that is how every step of the way, they want to manipulate. You can’t have a situation like that, where every move you make, you want to checkmate your friend by doing an outrageous act. In the past, I have been on record and I have the evidence that in Mwense (District), they were registering Congolese to get NRCs; I have that evidence, even if they say ‘that was a one-off thing and the person was brought before the courts of law and they have given him a sentence…’ To us, that doesn’t mean anything. It is a scheme that PF has engaged themselves in and outside the country. They have compromised the integrity and sovereignty of this country,” said Nkombo.