Mfuwe by-election attracts 500 cops
By Thandizo Banda in Lavushimanda
POLICE have appealed to political parties to refrain from violence and allow the people of Mfuwe Constituency to participate in the August 7 by-election without fear.
Over 500 police personnel have been deployed in the constituency ahead of the parliamentary by-election scheduled for tomorrow.
Muchinga Province commissioner of police Dennis Moola said a team of police officers from TAZARA had been sent to Mfuwe to enforce the available manpower.
“We have not received any reports of violence or malpractice from participating parties as we have adequately briefed them,” Moola said.
He said in an interview the police officers would work to ensure peace prevailed before, during and after the by-election.
Moola said police would be on the ground to ensure any attempts to instigate political violence were curtailed.
Moola urged all participating political parties to campaign peacefully and allow people to participate in the elections without fear.
Meanwhile, Moola says he is impressed with the conduct of political parties and their supporters so far.
The campaigns had been generally peaceful.
Lavushimanda district electoral officer Robert Chisanga said the district was ready to host the by-election.
Chisanga told The Mast besides a dispute between Socialist Party (SP) and United Party for National Development (UPND) over campaign allocation which was resolved by the Conflict Management Committee, there had been no major cases of violence or unethical conduct by contenders.
He that 216 polling staff had been deployed to 36 polling stations.
Chisanga, however, said two polling stations, Lumbatwa and Kamwendo, were not accessible by road transport.
The commission would therefore use air transport to deploy poll staff and deliver election materials to the two hard-to-reach areas.
