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Lusaka~5th March 2021.
A consortium of United Party for National Development (UPND) youths from the country’s ten provinces resolved that any manoeuvre by PF government to remove HH from the ballot will be met with serious consequences.
The consortium, which comprises of UPND provincial youth chairpersons from Luapula, Northern, Central, Copperbelt, Lusaka, Western, North Western and Eastern provinces told journalists in Lusaka this morning that plans to arrest Mr Hichilema by the PF would be met with full force.
Lyson Nyirenda, who’s Eastern Province Youth Chairperson accused the PF-led Government, told journalists that the UPND was aware of manoeuvres to try and implicate Mr Hichilema so that he doesn’t successfully file in his nominations papers next month.
He warned that there would be no elections if Mr Hichilema is deliberately not allowed to appear on the ballot, adding that whoever touches Mr Hichilema touches every Zambian.
“We people in the East are very unfortunate because we have the President, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services and the infrastructure Development Minister who all hail from the east yet we are very impoverished with poor roadnetwork.
We’ve had enough hate from PF ” he charged.
In echoing Mr Nyirenda, UPND National Youth Chairperson, Gilbert Liswaniso says youths in UPND are more than ready to bite the bullet, adding that the party’s youths had resolved to stand by President Hichilema and ensure that he is ushered into state house courtesy of the Zambian people.
Lusaka Province UPND Youth Chairperson, Anderson Banda, says the PF will democratically because Zambians have suffered enough.
He said that UPND has been closely monitoring the manoeuvres and schemes of the PF to implicate Mr Hichilema and prevent him from appearing on the 2021 ballot.
In his submissions, Luapula UPND Youth Chairperson, Nelson Kalembwe warned that arresting HH on flimsy grounds would lead to wide spread chaos in the country.
He also called on the PF to build more more prisons if they wanted to proceed with their plans to bar him from appearing on the 2021 Presidential ballot.
Milner Mwanakampwe, who is the Central UPND Youth Chairperson, charged that the ECZ’s biased handling of the elections and disregard for the Electoral processes has the potential to bleed anarchy.
“Not handling the electoral process properly has the potential to bleed anarchy.
We are also giving the Police IG 24 hours to release those who are unjustly held in police cells.
We are aware that the continued holding of the four officials is aimed at accusing HH so that he is barred from contesting the forthcoming polls.
This follows statements that from PF leaders and officials that a Tonga will never rule while some say HH will never rule.
We wish to call on the PF leadership that going for HH is not the noblest of things for him to do if he wants the country to be safe,” he said.
Northwestern Province Youth Chairperson, Bruce Kanema, Western Province, Jack Mwanga, Muchinga Youth Chairperson, Brown Simbeye and Paul Mulenga of Northern Province were among the youth leaders who attended the briefing.
*UPND MEDIA TEAM*
