FORMER MINISTER PETER PHIRI ACCUSES RIVAL OF WIDESPREAD ELECTION VIOLENCE
THE Chipata High Court has heard that there was widespread vote buying, coupled with the intimidation of ruling party supporters by members of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) in Malambo West Constituency during the August 13 General Election.
Former Eastern Province Minister Peter Phiri told the Chipata High Court that there was violence on the eve of the elections and on the actual voting day.
This is in a matter in which Mr. Phiri is challenging the election of Patrick Mwale as the Member of Parliament for Malambo West
Mr. Mwale is the first respondent, and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is the second respondent.
“My Lady, we even had incidents of our United Party for National Development (UPND) members being stoned and beaten at a polling station called Chifunda,” he said.
Mr. Phiri stated that Mr. Mwale and his agents engaged in vote buying and the intimidation of his supporters by spending nights at polling stations on the eve of the election.
He alleged that Mr. Mwale deployed more than 100 supporters to spend the night in various polling stations across the constituency and that their conduct was unlawful.
The former Provincial Minister added that opposition members deployed at the polling stations even searched ECZ officers on the eve of the election.
“Allowing the cadres to spend the night in the polling stations happened across all 34 polling stations. Before the 13th of August, these same cadres were instructed to spend the night at the polling stations and started intimidating our voters,” Mr. Phiri said.
“My Lady, what I mean by ‘our voters’ are those individuals in our society who had made up their minds to come and vote for me, Peter Simon Phiri, and the political party I stood on, the UPND,”he added
Mr Phiri named several polling stations where he claimed ruling party members were threatened by opposition members and discouraged from turning out to vote.
Mr. Phiri, who is also the UPND Eastern Province Chairperson, claimed that on the eve of the election, opposition members guarded the rooms where election materials were being kept.
He argued that these actions by the opposition undermined the Malambo West parliamentary election and requested that the results be nullified.
Mr Phiri has lined up 15 witnesses to testify in this matter.
NRPUP candidate Patrick Mwale was declared the Member of Parliament for Malambo West Constituency in Mambwe District after polling 6,574 votes, defeating Mr. Phiri, who managed 4,967 votes.
TEP