DAG Hammarskjöld UPND losing candidate Ernest Lufunda has withdrawn his election petition against NRPUP’s Ezra Tembo, saying he is doing so for the development of the constituency despite losing by 26 votes under “dubious circumstances”.

Tembo was declared Member of Parliament after polling 5,320 votes against Lufunda’s 5,294 votes, giving him a narrow victory margin of 26 votes.

Lufunda announced the decision yesterday during a Facebook Live broadcast.

“Dear residents of DAG Constituency, my family, I wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your support, trust, encouragement and commitment throughout the electoral process. Your dedication and belief in our shared vision will forever remain deeply appreciated. Following careful consideration and reflection, we have decided not to petition the DAG Constituency election results. This decision has not been made out of weakness or a lack of conviction, but out of our commitment to the bigger picture, the development of our constituency, the unity of our people and the progress of our party,” he said.

Lufunda said the campaign was smooth and thanked President Hakainde Hichilema for giving him an opportunity to contest the seat.

“I would like to address the people of DAG Constituency and my colleagues whom we worked with in the campaigns, the party starting from the district, the constituency and the wards which are in the constituency. It was a smooth campaign which we ran in our constituency. Firstly, I would like to thank the President for giving me an opportunity to stand in that constituency. The campaign ended and my colleague from NRPUP was declared winner, and we lost by 26 votes, of course, under dubious circumstances which happened with the election. After the election, we went ahead and petitioned the election. It actually took us by surprise that we could lose that election because we campaigned heavily. And the support which the people of DAG Constituency gave us was amazing, whereas our other colleagues, if you look at their campaign, they were not there,” he said.

Lufunda said he felt pain whenever he visited the constituency, adding that the party was bigger than him.

He also appealed to the new MP to serve everyone regardless of their political affiliation.

“Unfortunately, we have reached this stage whereby we are not there. And the support from the people of DAG has been amazing. I feel bad when I go there, even now, to speak to them because it is something which has been breaking me every day. We look at how people are living. We look at how the place is; it needs someone with a heart to go back to the people, not to be too political. Where we are, we have reached a stage whereby we are looking at the bigger picture of the party, UPND. As for me, I am not bigger than the party. The party is bigger than Lufunda. We have come to accept what happened, that we never got the seat. For the people of DAG, so that development should go on, we have decided that we let go of the seat and withdraw the petition. My advice is to my colleague who happens to be there as a Member of Parliament: let him have the heart to go back to the people and try to help everyone. I have done this not because of him, but because of the people of DAG. He should not segregate that this is UPND, this is what. Let him go back and work for them because he knows, even in his heart, that he never won that seat,” he said.

Lufunda said he had strong evidence to support his petition but had decided to leave the matter in God’s hands.

“But I have done it with a heavy heart that I have given it to him to continue and work for the people of DAG because I know if I had continued with this case, it has a lot of evidence which could have taken him out of that seat. But I just want to put everything in the hands of God. I know what God has for me is beyond this. I don’t want to fight with man. I want God to take control of it. He must not fear, let him work. Like I have said, Lufunda is not bigger than the party. I will go by what the party stands for, that we continue not to put our party into disrepute in any way. But even our people in DAG, the leadership there, I would want them to understand that, with me, no one can buy me. I have never met Ezra Tembo before. Even now, I am not there to be bought because my desire was to work for the people of DAG,” he said.

Lufunda said politics should now be put aside to allow the constituency to focus on development.

“We believe that the time has come to look beyond the elections and focus our energy on the work that truly matters. Our people deserve development, improved services, better opportunities and leaders who prioritise their needs. Political contests come and go, but the needs of our people remain. We must therefore embrace this moment as an opportunity to strengthen our relationships, rebuild where necessary and work together towards a better future for everyone in DAG Constituency. To our supporters, we ask you to remain peaceful, united and forward-looking. Your efforts and sacrifices were not in vain. Every contribution made during this journey has helped strengthen our collective commitment to serving the people. Let us put aside divisions, embrace the spirit of togetherness and support initiatives that bring meaningful development to our communities. Our commitment to the people remains firm. Our dedication to the party remains unwavering. And our focus now is clear: development, unity and progress. May DAG Constituency move forward in peace and prosperity,” said Lufunda.