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Recently re-elected Member of Parliament Victoria Kalima has thanked the people of Kasenengwa, the leadership and supporters of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and all the Eastern Province MMD Members of Parliament for the tremendous show of support that helped her reclaim her seat with a landslide victory of almost 11,000 votes, which was the highest winning number out of the 5 by-elections on 11th September 2014 .
A triumphant and jubilant Ms Kalima who now prepares to re-occupy her previously nullified seat this Friday during the official opening of Parliament says she feels vindicated and totally re-energized as she looks forward to strengthening the voice of the MMD in Parliament and continue championing the cause of the disadvantaged rural women and children in her constituency.
“I want to tell my fellow womenfolk throughout the country to rise and help increase women representation in parliament and I sincerely hope that many will draw inspiration from my determined fight to get my seat back in the face of a very hostile environment. I am very encouraged that the era of insults and violence which has caused most women to shun politics is being defeated by issue-based campaigns and so the door is now wide open for women to participate without fear. I am happy that my party the MMD is pushing for a new style of politics based on honesty, morality, and integrity. Just as President Levy Mwanawasa had the New Deal, MMD under President Nevers Mumba has Modern Politics,” she said.
When the PF came into power, the then PF Secretary General Mr. Winter Kabimba, instructed all losing PF candidates to petition 50 MMD seats which resulted in the highest election petitions in Zambia’s history. Most political analysts have accused the Patriotic Front Government of using this carefully and deliberately crafted devious ploy to achieve a parliamentary majority of 106 seats giving the required two-thirds majority to circumvent a Referendum and pass the new constitution with clauses of their choice.
The Kasenengwa seat was among the many MMD seats nullified by the Courts of law allegedly due to electoral malpractice. Twenty three by-elections have been held since PF came into power, reducing the MMD representation in Parliament from 55 to just 39. According to the Electoral Commission of Zambia, the cost of conducting a by-election is about K7 million of tax-payers money and the PF machinations have cost the country K161 million so far, without counting the cost of transporting, accommodating and paying PF Ministers, MPs and other government officials during campaigns
