By PRINCE MABUMBA
THE Patriotic Front (PF) is insisting that should the Registrar of Societies go ahead and deregister the former ruling party, the UPND government would be forced to call for early general elections.
Given Lubinda, the PF acting vice president has said, the fact that the former ruling party has about 58 Members of Parliament, meant that once it was deregistered it would automatically trigger early elections because the opposition lawmakers would cease to represent the party that sponsored them.
Mr Lubinda said the deregistration of the PF would attract the dissolution of Parliament thereby triggering an early general election.
“The Registrar of Society can go ahead and deregister the PF now but they should know that PF has Members of Parliament. So, if it is deregistered, the MPs will not have a party to represent and this will call for dissolution of the Parliament. Once that is done, it will trigger elections. President Hakainde Hichilema will be compelled to call for general elections,” Mr Lubinda said.
And Mr Lubinda has clarified that, the former ruling party did submit the office bearers to the Registrar of Society in 2021.
Mr Lubinda named the office bearers as former President Edgar Lungu, former Secretary General Davies Mwila, former National Chairperson Ng’onga Mukupa, Member of the Central Committee Monica Mwale Mwansa, Annie Nyirenda Tischer, and former Defence Minister Davies Chama.
Others are former first deputy Speaker Mwiimba Malama, former Community Development Minister Emerine Kabanshi, former Presidential Affairs Minister Freedom Sikwazwe and former Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo.
“The party has complied with legal requirement and the names have always been submitted to the Chief Registrar of Societies. Until the party holds another extraordinary general conference, the above remain the approved registered office bearers,” Mr Lubinda said.
