FLAWED ADOPTIONS
Sporadic intra –party protests
and demonstrations have broken out in various parts of the country spearheaded
by supporters of candidates who have been left out despite having proved their
popularity at grassroot level and mobilizing party members to campaign for
their respective parties.
It is now abundantly clear to all
observers that Zambia’s democracy is under threat because of the greed and
selfishness of political party leaders some of whom have sat at the helm of
their parties for over 10 years without subjecting themselves to a democratic
intra-party election process thereby literally turning the parties into their
personal to holder institutions. They can decide to sidestep the will of the
people at grassroot level in favour of their friends. What factors have led to
the flawed adoption in the PF and UPND and why is there more discontent in the
UPND camp than in the PF camp?
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| PF aspiring candidates who were not adopted |
When the UPND President was busy receiving
politicians who were coming from other parties and those who had formed their
own parties but failed to tick, he forgot to remind his supporters that those
endorsements and defections were not without conditions. Up to now supporters
and synpathisers of the UPND do not know the conditions set out in the
agreement between their party and new comers like Miles Sampa, Guy Scott and
Nevers Mumba.
The swarm of MMD former members of parliament who defected to
the UPND came with their own interests. Their biggest interest was to seek
adoption on a party whose popularity was growing in their constituencies. They
forgot to mention to the UPND that it was probably their underperformance in MMD that led to discontent among the electorates
who were seeking for alternative leadership under the UPND. If some of these
MPs succeed to use the back door to influence the adoption process, voters will
be shocked to find the people they rejected dressed in red and not blue and
seeking re-election. It is nothing to do with the aspirations of the people and
their desire to see development but only the selfish desires of politicians to
cling to power and continue enjoying the financial and material benefits of
parliament.
The new comers have supplanted many new and aspiring
candidates some of whom were in professional employment who even had to resign
from their jobs in the hope that their parties would adopt them considering that
they had done their homework at grassroot level. However they have been
dribbled by the rich and powerful. The biggest loser remain the ordinary Zambians
who are now under siege at the hands of these selfish politicians some of whom
are seeking a third or fourth term in the house.
Reports emerging from the PF camp
indicate that they too have had their share of troubles in the adoption
process. This was allegedly further complicated by the interests of the Movement
for Multi-Party Democracy MMD led by Rupiah Banda who also had an interest in
representation as part of an alliance deal particularly for MMD candidates in
the eastern province.
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| Hakainde Hichilema |
President Lungu has played smart
politics by meeting all candidates that were not adopted at state house and
addressing their concerns. We hope this example will be followed by those in
other parties.
A missed opportunity
Political parties in Zambia have
missed an important opportunity to change the complexion of their parties by
ensuring that they provide an opportunity for younger candidates and also
candidates from regions other than their traditional strongholds to also
provide political leadership.
One young candidate who hoped to
be adopted by PF, Sunday Chanda showed humility and pledged continued loyalty
to his party.
“Let me mention that I have
refused to give in to voices calling on me to stand as an Independent
candidate. I have also made it clear that I am not defecting from PF. I’m going
back to the Presidential Campaign to ensure Zambia elects the best man on 11th
August 2016- President Edgar Lungu,” Mr Chanda said.
He said the adoption process has
made him learn and grow and that it brought him in constant touch with the
hopes and aspirations of the people.
“The race saw many other
competitors and I’m proud that my team and I put up a great on-the-ground
campaign in Kanchibiya. After all is said and done, Central Committee sat to
decide who was ideally suited to serve the people of Kanchibiya and it was not
to be me,” he said.
“I have just made a call on my
elder brother, PF’s adopted candidate for Kanchibiya and former IG Dr. Martin
Malama to congratulate him and assured him of my availability to ensure we
maximise the voter turn-out for President Edgar Lungu.”
“The race was less about me and
more about the President and I’ll remain true to that objective. It’s not a
great feeling to let go of Kanchibiya in order for my brother Dr. Malama to
operate effectively as he represents the interests of the Party. It’s a painful
experience for me, my team and supporters but maybe it wasn’t meant to be at
this point,” he said.
“Thank you for all the faith and
confidence you had in me. I have grown and learnt a lot on this journey.”
The UPND was perceived by many as a beacon of
hope for Zambian politics because it was a party associated with the educated
and those without much exposure of the corruption of the political system who
would enter the political arena with fresh and progressive thinking. But
clearly desperation for power has made the party to abandon some of its core
principles and embrace every element that promises to help Hakainde Hichilema
to scoop the presidency.
Meanwhile the UPND president is
yet to announce his choice of running mate. A decision that has potential to
affect the party’s campaigns going forward either positively or negatively
depending on his choice of candidate.
The stakes are high!
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