Emmanuel Chenda says MMD is gone to the graveyard and will never bounce back as a formidable party.
And Vice-President Guy Scott says MMD was just about talking under Frederick Chiluba; that is why he (Dr Scott) left alongside President ×Michael Sata to form the Patriotic Front.
Meanwhile, sports minister Chishimba Kambwili says UPND cannot form government because it is only in Southern Province.
Addressing a rally to drum up support for the PF candidate in the August 19 Mangango parliamentary by-election, Chenda said people that go to the grave do not return.
Chenda, the local government minister, told Mangango residents at the rally at Chilombo Basic School ground that: “The MMD is now a buried party and so don’t even think of voting for its candidate here. It is gone to the graveyard and people don’t come back from the graveyard.”
Chenda also said the UPND had lost popularity and that its presence in Parliament had continued to dwindle.
“In 2001, UPND had more than 40 MPs but later in 2006 the number reduced to 30 or so and in 2011, the number reduced further,” Chenda said. “So it means that UPND is going down.”
And Dr Scott said the MMD under the late Chiluba was full of talk instead of action, hence he dumped it.
Addressing a rally at Muswala Basic School ground, Vice-President Scott said after leaving the MMD, they formed the PF.
“So we didn’t just come from the underground; we have a background,” Vice-President Scott said. “So vote for our candidate so that we bring development here.”
He also announced that K161,000 had been released for construction of Muswala clinic and that he would engage ZICTA for a mobile communication tower in the area.
Vice-President Scott also dismissed opposition claims of vote buying.
He said to promise people development was not vote buying.
“But if people are handing out cash to buy votes, they will be dealt with even if they are PF,” he told journalists in Kaoma.
“We as PF are not interested in buying votes, it’s not worth it. There are thousands of voters and so even if you give out ten pin each, where will you find the money?”
And Kambwili said the UPND only had members of parliament from Southern Province and a few in Western Province and so could not form government.
PF candidate Rodgers Lingweshi said he would trounce his opponents in the election.