Political violence worries AVAP

Political violence worries AVAP

Chipata, July 19, ZANIS ——The Anti- Voter Apathy (AVAP) in Eastern Province has expressed concern over political conflicts ahead of July 25th Chipata Central by-election.

AVAP Provincial Co-coordinator, Maumba Ngoma said that his office has received complaints of inter-party conflicts from political parties.

Mr Ngoma stated that the political atmosphere in the country is worrying with political parties fighting while nothing is being done to control the situation.

He appealed to political party leaders to discipline their members and ensure that the by-election is held in a peaceful atmosphere, adding that people involved in acts of violence should be reported to the police.

And Chipata residents have also expressed worry over reports of violence in the run up to Chipata Central polls.

Emelia Phiri and Margaret Chilumbu of Nabvutika compound stated that the violence mostly reported in the media by the opposition were not healthy for the region considering that it would hold several others by elections on September 5 this year.

They were speaking in a walk in interview with ZANIS in Chipata today.

They duo stated that there was need for political parties to refrain from issuing baseless reports which were aimed at threatening the electorates from making informed decisions based on what the aspiring candidates would offer.

They stated that there was need for political parties to take heed of Electoral Commission of Zambia’s (ECZ) calls for peaceful campaigns.

“We appreciate ECZ efforts to educate the masses on the need for peaceful campaigns, some of us are interested radio listeners and we are aware that the commissioner herself came to address the youths from various political parties at Luangwa Lodge,” they stated.

The duo said there was need for youths in the area to take heed of ECZ advice for peaceful campaigns and avoid being used by political parties to engage in violence.

Recently, ECZ held several meetings with traditional leaders, political parties and youths from different political parties in Chipata stressing the need to have violent free elections.