KALULUSHI re-elected PF member of parliament Kampamba Chilumba says despite the early lead taken by Hakainde Hichilema in the presidential race, she is still confident that President Edgar Lungu will win because ‘bola ni 90 minutes’.

And Chilumba says God has taught her closest competitor in the parliamentary race, Rashida Mulenga, a lesson because she is “greedy”.

Speaking shortly after being declared duly elected MP, Saturday, Chilumba said she had seen the trend before where the UPND took an early lead but ended up losing.

“I am very confident that President Edgar Lungu will scoop the seat even though Hakainde Hichilema is leading because ‘bola ni 90 minutes’. Until the referee blows the whistle and says it is over. This trend, we have seen it before and it happened. Like I said, I have the experience. We saw it in 2016, we saw it in Levy Mwanawasa’s time and we can get these results but ‘bola ni 90 minutes’. And I just want to tell you that I have the 100% confidence that his Excellency the President Edgar Chagwa Lungu is retaining the seat,” she said.

Chilumba further said she had political experience and would therefore work with all elected councilors despite most of them being from the UPND.

“We have worked before and I have been in the PF for a long time. The party is the party and the government is the government. Ours was in opposition from 2001 until we got elected in 2011. We saw for a while that the opposition was dominant especially in the Council but government is government. So for me, I am their member of parliament and when you look at everybody that has gone in the Council including the Mayor, they are first comers. We have not come to fight with them and they have not come to fight with me. We have come to work with the people of Kalulushi. So if they want to be re-elected and break records like I have, they should work with me,” she said.

“I warned other members of the party that decided to go otherwise that the people of Kalulushi are not stupid. What really gets to their head is the position and we soon forget that we have to go back to our people that elected us. They elected us based on the principle ideologies that we had given them so that we could develop Kalulushi. So for me, I believe that we need to regroup and work together. Every player whether from UPND or PF, President Edgar Lungu has shown that he is ready to embrace everybody. We have seen from the experience that President Lungu embraces everybody. So I do not think there should be a problem. If you were elected to work for the people I do not think there should be a problem.”

Meanwhile, Chilumba said God had taught her closest competitor in the parliamentary race a lesson because she was greedy.

“For me, it is because she came from the party and obviously the votes were split. At the end of the day what is important is that the will of the people prevailed. And for people like her that are greedy, look at what has happened, God has taught her a lesson that you do not do things like that. Even with one margin, she would still have been beaten pants down because the will of the people prevailed. I am very thankful that the people of Kalulushi chose not to elect greedy leaders like that. She has only been five years in the constituency and you just want to mess things up. Look at how the Council is run, so [no] matter what you do, God will not let the wicked rise over the righteous and this is what he has done,” said Chilumba.