The Pambashe Parliamentary by-election is heating up, with four candidates successfully filing their nominations for the February 6, 2025, election.
The candidates who made the cut include Williams Mwenya from the FDD, who was the first to file at 10:10 hours, followed by James Chabi from the Socialist Party. The ruling UPND candidate, Justin Kapema, submitted his papers around 15:00, and Honorato Kanunsha of the Democratic Union was the fourth to successfully file.
The candidates expressed optimism about winning the seat, with each outlining their vision for the constituency. Justin Kapema pledged to lobby for speedy implementation of development projects, particularly those under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). James Chabi called for issue-based campaigns, emphasizing constructive political discourse. Williams Mwenya promised to prioritize development in key sectors like agriculture, health, and education.
However, the nomination process wasn’t without drama. Citizens First Party candidate Eskaya Kayumba’s nomination papers were rejected after he initially presented an invalid voter’s card. Another candidate, Derrick Chama from the Movement for Change and Equality Party, couldn’t complete the nomination process due to his party’s failure to pay the K15,000 nomination fee.
The by-election was necessitated by the conviction of incumbent MP Ronald Chitotela by a court of law.
