Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Sunday requested that Cuba recall its ambassador for allegedly expressing support for a new opposition party.

Cuban ambassador Nelson Pages Vilas reportedly attended the launch of the "Socialist Party" on Saturday in Lusaka and was accused of publicly saying that he supported the party.

"The president has directed that the Cuban ambassador be recalled for behaviour that is unbecoming of a diplomat," presidential spokesperson Amos Chanda told reporters.

"The Cuban ambassador attended a party function and announced that he will support the opposition party and said he wished them well."

Lungu has been accused by critics of increasingly authoritarian rule and of cracking down on dissent in Zambia since he narrowly won elections in 2016.

The main opposition UPND party disputes the election result and has filed a motion to impeach the president, but the scheduled vote in parliament last week was delayed.

The motion would likely be easily defeated by lawmakers from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF).

Lungu's spokesman said the request for the Cuban ambassador to be recalled would not affect relations between the two countries.

The Cuban embassy and the Socialist Party were not immediately available to comment.

The Socialist Party's leader was named as Fred M'membe, the former editor of the private Post newspaper that was critical of Lungu's government and which was closed down before the last election.

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FOLLOW News24 Africa on Twitter and Facebook.</s>Zambia has asked Cuba to recall its ambassador for openly supporting the newly launched opposition Socialist Party, the president’s spokesman said on Sunday.

Zambian Government Spokesman Amos Chanda said ambassador Nelson Pages Vilas spoke at the party’s launch on Saturday.

Political tensions were rekindled in Zambia last month when the country’s main opposition party, the United Party for National Development (UPND), filed a motion seeking to impeach President Edgar Lungu over accusations of breaching the constitution.

The UPND challenged Lungu’s 2016 election victory in court, alleging fraud, arguing that that obliged him to hand over power to parliament’s speaker until the court considered its petition.

He directed that the Cuban ambassador be recalled “for behaviour unbecoming of a diplomat,” Chanda told a media briefing, adding that diplomatic ties with Cuba would be retained.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact the ambassador for comment.</s>Zambia has asked Cuba to recall its ambassador for openly supporting the newly launched opposition Socialist Party, the president’s spokesman said on Sunday.

Amos Chanda said ambassador Nelson Pages Vilas spoke at the party’s launch on Saturday.

He directed that the Cuban ambassador be recalled “for behavior unbecoming of a diplomat,” Chanda told a media briefing, adding that diplomatic ties with Cuba would be retained.

“An ambassador is accredited to the government of the Republic of Zambia, he is never accredited to any political party, not even the ruling party. He cannot speak and offer open support to any political formation, he can’t do that even to the ruling party,” said Chanda.

Political tensions were rekindled in Zambia last month when the country’s main opposition party, the United Party for National Development (UPND), filed a motion seeking to impeach President Edgar Lungu over accusations of breaching the constitution.

The UPND challenged Lungu’s 2016 election victory in court, alleging fraud, arguing that that obliged him to hand over power to parliament’s speaker until the court considered its petition.</s>Zambia has asked Cuba to recall its ambassador for openly supporting the newly launched opposition Socialist Party, the president’s spokesman said on Sunday.

Amos Chanda said ambassador Nelson Pages Vilas spoke at the party’s launch on Saturday.

He directed that the Cuban ambassador be recalled “for behavior unbecoming of a diplomat,” Chanda told a media briefing, adding that diplomatic ties with Cuba would be retained.

An ambassador is accredited to the government of the Republic of Zambia, he is never accredited to any political party, not even the ruling party. He cannot speak and offer open support to any political formation, he can’t do that even to the ruling party.

“An ambassador is accredited to the government of the Republic of Zambia, he is never accredited to any political party, not even the ruling party. He cannot speak and offer open support to any political formation, he can’t do that even to the ruling party,” said Chanda.

Political tensions were rekindled in Zambia last month when the country’s main opposition party, the United Party for National Development (UPND), filed a motion seeking to impeach President Edgar Lungu over accusations of breaching the constitution.

The UPND challenged Lungu’s 2016 election victory in court, alleging fraud, arguing that that obliged him to hand over power to parliament’s speaker until the court considered its petition.</s>Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda has said that the Cuban Mission would continue to exist as President Edgar Lungu was only interested in removing Ambassador Nelson Pages Vilas for breaching international diplomatic practice.

“The Cuban diplomatic mission continues to exist, the President has requested a recall of one individual, and that is the ambassador. We are taking exactly what he said, he attended and offered his best wishes and his support to the opposition Socialist Party so the request is for the removal of one diplomat and this is His Excellency the ambassador who apparently just presented his credentials on Thursday.”

Mr Chanda said that President Lungu has decided to ask the Cuban government to recall its Zambian envoy Nelson Pages Vilas for openly declaring his support for the opposition Socialist Party.

“The Cuban Ambassador attended a party function and announced at that function that he will support the opposition party that has been formed, the Socialist Party. He wished them well and went further to announce that they have his support, that contravenes established diplomatic practice.”

“An ambassador is accredited to the government of the Republic of Zambia, he is never accredited to any political party, not even the ruling party. He cannot speak and offer open support to any political formation, he can’t do that even to the ruling party,” said Chanda.

Mr Chanda said it was a clear red light for Ambassador Vilas, who was only accredited last week, to declare his support for the opposition party led by former Post editor-in-chief Dr Fred M’membe.

Chanda said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been instructed the process to recall him.

“I called you to brief you on one important decision that the President has made with regards to the conduct of the Cuban Ambassador to Zambia.”

“The President has directed that the Cuban Ambassador be recalled, the Foreign Affairs Ministry must make all procedures today to start the process of the recall of the Cuban Ambassador. That is, the sending state must recall the Cuban Ambassador for behavior unbecoming of a diplomat. This relates to his involvement in partisan politics which is totally in contravention of established diplomatic practice,” Chanda said.

“The President has instructed the permanent secretary foreign affairs to call in the ambassador and inform him of this decision. It is quite extraordinary that of all people, the Cuban Ambassador himself knows that in Cuba, the opposition is not just resented, it is totally absent.”

“You would expect that the Cuban ambassador would know that diplomatic practice prohibits that kind of behavior. An ambassador ought to have known that that is a clear red line. So a decision has been made for the Zambian government to request the Cuban government to recall their ambassador for behavior that is contrary to that which is expected of a diplomat.”

“Conduct unbecoming of a diplomat is the official reason for which the Zambian government, particularly the president has taken this decision.”</s>President Edgar Lungu has expelled the Cuban Ambassador accredited to Zambia.

On Saturday Cuban Ambassador to Zambia Nelson Pages Vilas, graced the launch of the Socialist Party in Zambia.

In what he described as a Revolutionary greetings, the Ambassador said his government was wishing the Socialist Party in Zambia all the best.

But President Lungu said Ambassador Pages-Vilas has breached diplomatic ethics, practice and standards by his action.

President Lungu was speaking through his Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations, Amos Chanda when he addressed the media at Taj Pamodzi Hotel
Zambian President Edgar Lungu requests that Cuba recall its ambassador, Nelson Pages Vilas, for allegedly expressing support for a new opposition party.