Mufumbwe Votes: Who Takes Mufumbwe Seat?

THE buzz is gone and serenity has come to Mufumbwe ahead of today’s by-election, following weeks of rollercoaster campaigns by three political parties across this vast constituency.
Three political parties are vying for the Mufumbwe parliamentary seat which fell vacant following the expulsion of the incumbent legislator from the MMD, Stephen Masumba.

Today’s polls will see Mr Masumba, a former MMD member and deputy minister in the Patriotic Front (PF) government pitted against MMD’s Stafford Mulusa and Stephen Kamwengo of UNIP.
President Sata visited Mufumbwe last weekend, primarily to render support to the youthful parliamentary contestant on the PF ticket.
The President told a campaign meeting at a football ground at a local school in Mufumbwe last Saturday that he would “straighten” Mr Masumba.
This followed attempts by the opposition to label Masumba as childish and irresponsible.
The President asked the people of Mufumbwe to vote for Mr Masumba “to bring the face of the province closer to government.”
Jean Kapata is the campaign manager for the PF and is confident that the ruling party will get a landslide victory.
On his part, Mr Kamwengo believes he will win the election. He has contested the seat on three occasions and has always finished last.
“This time there is no losing. I am going to win,” said the man from Mushima, about 180 kilometres east of Mufumbwe boma.
Mr Mulusa is viewed as an outsider who does not live in Mufumbwe. However he has the support of the newly rebranded MMD who believe he is just as good for the job.
Mr Mulusa’s campaign has been spearheaded by Dr Nevers Mumba, the MMD president.
The central issue in the campaign has been development, or the lack of it.
Mufumbwe has been a district for 20 years but most locals say there has been little to show for it.
With 27,000 registered voters and 40 polling stations in the constituency, the battle for Mufumbwe is not an easy one.
The PF, on the one hand is trying to get its first seat in North-western Province while the MMD is eager to maintain its grip on the constituency.
And as far as the preparations for the elections are concerned, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has been impressive.
ECZ director Pricilla Isaac says the situation has generally been “very different from the 2010 by-election when there was a lot of violence.”
She commended all stakeholders for creating a peaceful environment.
To ensure peaceful elections, the police high command in the province has been in Mufumbwe for many weeks to watch over the constituency before, during and after the elections.
Security is tight and police and other security wings are not leaving anything to chance. Mufumbwe experienced a bloody by-election in April 2010.
There is more to Mufumbwe apart from being infamously known for its violent by-election, one of the worst in Zambia’s history.
Because of its centrality in the province, there have been some suggestions by interest groups that the President could consider Mufumbwe for the headquarters of the province.
Despite it’s underdevelopment, the district is a major producer of maize and groundnuts and has potential to develop these into finished products.
Like most districts, Mufumbwe is rich in minerals such as copper, which need further exploitation through more investment.
And the Kabompo River which runs through the district offers great potential for tourism, but for now residents and observers await the decision of Mufumbwe voters.

Posted by Editor on November 8, 2012. Filed under HEADLINES. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry