CF to go solo in Lumezi poll, says Kalaba

CF to go solo in Lumezi poll, says Kalaba

 By Tony Nkhoma

I AM not working alone, I can’t work alone and I am in big unison with all opposition political parties, Citizens First (CF) party president Harry Kalaba has said.

And Kalaba has announced that CF will field its own candidate in the forthcoming Lumezi parliamentary by-election.

Kalaba pushed back at the growing public talk that his party will not be part of any political alliance in the country after pulling out of the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA).

Speaking when he featured on Hot FM Radio yesterday, he said Zambia needed a strong opposition and the current big alliance in the country were the people of Zambia.

“But the biggest alliance that we have right now, is the people of Zambia. Many people do not even belong to political parties. And the CF has not said they will not be part of any alliance in the future. We only got out of UKA,” Kalaba said.

He said the opposition political parties could not survive while working in isolation hence the need to work as a strong team.

“Is it not only three weeks ago? I also was saying the opposition might not survive if they keep working alone. We need to come together strong in 2026,” Kalaba said.

He said the CF central committee had decided that the party would field its sole candidate in the June 26 Lumezi parliamentary by-election.

“And as I speak right now, the delegation actually has arrived safely. They arrived safely in Lumezi and they are already on the ground preparing for the nominations on Tuesday,” Kalaba said.

He argued that the decision by the CF to field its own candidate in the Lumezi parliamentary bye-election did not mean that the party wanted to work in isolation.

“That does not mean that we are saying that we don’t want to work together with others. That is not true. Even when we refer to the past, it is to show you how selfless we are,” Kalaba said.

He said President Hakainde Hichilema and the United Party for National Development (UPND had failed to revitalize the health sector in the country.

Kalaba said people were still being flown to other foreign countries for specialised medical treatment particularly cancer because of the poor state of the country’s health system.