• DELEGATES at the PF general conference break into celebration after Edgar Lungu (left) was declared duly elected party president yesterday. Pictures by CLEVER ZULU

ANXIETY gripped weary Patriotic Front (PF) members as their on-off general conference entered day two yesterday.
Day two of the conference started with a call for all delegates to go through the accreditation process which was called off on Saturday.
The new accreditation process, which was flagged off by Acting President Guy Scott, was taking place in town.
But the bulk of PF members who had gathered at Mulungushi since Saturday were unmoved and instead remained within the conference hall.
All senior party members arriving at the venue got a standing ovation, with a special welcome reserved for Edgar Lungu who made a grand entry in a blue Indian suit, a white cowboy hat and his signature walking stick.
The party members were determined to have a new leader as evidenced by the way they braved the scorching heat for 10 hours to go about the waiting and later verification of the voters’ registration.
In the intervening hours while the delegates waited for the meeting to be called to order, various PF choirs were given chance to get to the podium to sing party solidarity songs that mostly extolled the late Mr Sata.
The loudest of the singing came when Tourism and Arts Minister Jean Kapata, Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkandu Luo and former Munali member of Parliament Mumbi Phiri led the crowd into singing Mr Sata’s favourite Catholic song Tutemwane.
Going through the two-day conference in the unforgiving heat, coupled with poor sanitary conditions at the venue which has been having water problems, summed up the resolve of the PF family to elect Mr Sata’s successor.