UPND risks losing elections in 2026 – Kabimba
ECONOMIC Front (EF) leader Wynter Kabimba says the UPND risks losing general elections in 2026 if it does not attend to the current economic needs of the Zambian people.
Kabimba stated that the fact that EF has decided to work with the current regime does not change the variables on the ground at the moment.
Appearing on ZNBC’s Sunday Interview last night, the former cabinet minister said there’s need for government to respond to the current economic problems by satisfying the demands and expectations of citizens before 2026.
“Even now I can tell you that if the UPND does not change direction in terms of its economic policies that would go to satisfy the demands of the people [and] the expectations of the people, they could lose the elections in 2026,” he shared.
“The fact that we have decided to work with the UPND does not change the variables on the ground and the fundamentals, the issues of hunger, the issues of the high cost of living, the issues of high fuel prices, those are fundamentals that the UPND should attend to and very very quickly before the citizens reach a point where they have made up their mind that no more UPND. I’m [saying] this now that I’m the part of the UPND alliance.”
He mentioned that there were many areas in the current government’s policies he did not agree with despite joining the alliance.
Kabimba added that the EF joined the UPND to contribute to the corruption fight which he believes as a noble cause.
“Yes I criticised the UPND before joining them and even now I can agree there are so many things I don’t agree with in terms of policy but again if you look at my text we put a rider to that. This country is bigger than what divides EF and the UPND. This country is bigger than what divides Wynter Kabimba and the president,” he shared.
He also noted that there was need for the President to come out in the open and declare that some of the things he promised the citizenry were misleading due to lack of access to information.
“President Hakainde Hichilema could have been misled. I’m sure he believed in many of the things he talked about but they were not real such as that, he could fix this power or energy regime or structure easily. Firstly, he didn’t know the money that was owed, he found out recently, they were shocked. He didn’t have the information that PF had defaulted on Euro bonds,” noted Kabimba.
“There’s a possibility that a lot of information that he had in opposition [while making his campaign promises] was misleading. What I expected the president to do was to say to the Zambian people that I didn’t have the information that I have now.”
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba
Thank you Winter well spoken
Well-articulated, I am also of the same view that UNPD may find it very difficult to come through as a ruling party in 2026 mainly because of the economic situation that eats our people today, the other factor which is very cardinal is that, most of the UPND MP’s have become unpopular in their own constituencies and MP’s are the drivers of presidential votes, if an attempt is not made to woo in popular individuals to stand as MP’s, then the presidential vote will be heavily affected. Let anyone not be cheated, in Zambia the majority vote with their tummies. If they can not afford basic needs, even if you take them to the moon and back they will still not be happy.
Sober and straight to the point, this is what HH needs not praise singers. People that love you mean well even when they sound harsh sometimes because they care about the direction you take and want to see you on the right path.