The Registrar of Societies has cancelled the Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda-led Heritage Party’s registration upon the opposition political party’s request.

And the Registrar of Societies has warned NAREP, UPP, PAC and 12 other parties to file their annual returns and pay penalties within 21 days or face cancellation.

At a media briefing, Wednesday, Chief Registrar of Societies Thandiwe Mhende said Brig Gen Miyanda and former ABZ president Frank Bwalya, who now is Zambia’s Ambassador to Australia, had asked to have their parties de-registered.

“I wish to inform the general public that by the powers vested in me through Article 13(2) of the Societies Act, I have today, 29th May 2019 cancelled the registration of 12 political parties, 10 of these have been canceled for failing to comply with the Societies Act Cap 119 of the laws of Zambia. And these parties are People’s Redemption Party, National Alliance Party, National Democratic Focus, United Nationalist Party, Party for Unity Democracy and Development, Movement for Democratic Progress, Zambia Conservative Party, Zambia United Development Party and the Zambia Development Conference and Democratic Assembly,” Mhende said.

“Meanwhile, the cancellation of the other two political parties was based on the request from the two parties to have their registrations cancelled. These parties are namely Heritage Party and Alliance for Better Zambia.

And Mhende warned NAREP, UPP, PAC and 12 other parties to file their annual returns and pay penalties within 21 days or face cancellation.

“The Registrar of Societies wishes to state that currently, there are 15 political parties that are in default, due to the non payment of the 2018/2019 annual returns. As such, the department has commencement of serving them with default notices which gives them a 21-day ultimatum to normalize their status. Failure to which, the process of cancellation will be initiated. The affected political parties are therefore urged to engage the department for the purpose of settling the penalties to avoid unnecessary inconvenience. The parties affected are as follows:
Agenda for Change, National Restoration Party, Federal Government, 4th Revolution, Federal Democratic Party, New Generation Party, New Labour Party, National Movement for Progress Party, Revolution Communist Party, United Progressive People, United Democratic Forum Party, Radical Revolutionary Party, People’s Democratic Party, Ubuntu Democratic Party and People’s Alliance for Change,” said Mhende.

Meanwhile, Mhende said the Registrar of Societies had commenced the process of cancellation of 500 other societies that had not been compliant to the act among them, associations, religious bodies, and civil society organizations.