RESPECT opposition political parties and allow them to campaign freely, Livingstone District UPND Chairperson Christopher Siamwenya has advised his members.

And Siamwenya says the UPND in the tourist capital has not taken offence at the removal of its campaign posters by the opposition because it has enough of them.

In a statement, Siamwenya, however, warned social media users against spreading unverified information ahead of the August 13 polls, saying this could trigger anxiety and political violence.

“Respect rival political parties and allow them to campaign freely. We are not the only players. We are not the only people asking for votes from electorates. Other people are doing the same, so we should give room to other players also to ask for votes from members of the public,” Siamwenya said.

He added that democracy requires political tolerance and acceptance of opposing views.

Siamwenya said the UPND had so far not experienced major challenges during campaigns apart from alleged incidents of opponents pulling down its posters in some areas.

“So far, I cannot say we have any major challenges because our teams are doing everything that they are required to do, except that in some areas we have the challenge of our opponents pulling down our posters. But as a party which has been in this process for a long time, we are not taking serious offence over this because we have enough posters, so we replace them,” Siamwenya said.

With regard to social media users, Siamwenya urged them to ensure that information published during the election period was accurate, while urging members of the public to verify reports.

“My advice to those people is that they should give the correct information because giving false information creates anxiety; it creates violence. That is where violence is being bred. Before they [Zambians] take any action, they must ensure that they verify this information because acting on social media information will put them into problems,” Siamwenya said.

He further warned that UPND members who violate UPND rules or instructions were liable to disciplinary action.

“We have systems in our party which we use in disciplining members who go against the party rules. We have a disciplinary committee at all levels, starting from the branch, the wards, the constituency, the district and upwards. We do not spare anybody, even during hard times like this. If they go against our instructions, they are subject to disciplinary action,” he said.

Siamwenya advised youths not be used by politicians to cause problems.

“At the end of the day it is them who are arrested and put in cells, and make their relatives, their parents, suffer. We have informed our members to be calm, to wait patiently without any acts of violence for the announcement of the results,” Siamwenya said.

He, however, pleaded with Livingstone residents to vote for the UPND, saying the party had delivered “unprecedented development” within a short period.

“Vote for UPND because UPND has brought unprecedented development in a short period of time compared to other parties that have ruled this country for many years,” said Siamwenya.