FORMER Eastern Province minister Peter Phiri says he is confident that the UPND will secure 27 out of 29 seats in Eastern Province.

In an interview, Saturday, Phiri expressed confidence in President Hakainde Hichilema’s leadership.

“Campaigns are going on well in Eastern Province. As you are aware, we are not like the previous government, where you used to experience thuggery, caderism, beatings, fighting, nothing. You have seen the other team, they are going around Eastern Province incident-free, and this is what they call leadership. President Hakainde Hichilema has demonstrated leadership, especially in this election. Even you journalists are free to participate in whatever you can do, cover them without intimidation, without fear. This is what we wanted as people in Zambia and in Eastern Province in particular. So people should not take for granted the peace that they are experiencing during this election,” said Phiri.

“We need to maintain the peace that we have enjoyed this time under the able leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema, who is returning his presidency without even a doubt because he has delivered what people wanted. So here in Eastern Province in particular, remember the previous election in 2021 we only had two seats, and now since we have 29 constituencies, out of 29 I can assure you we are going to get not less than 27 seats in Eastern Province. Do not be cheated by the numbers that you are seeing or hearing from people from different walks of life and then you call it a rally. We are doing door-to-door [campaigns]”.