By CIC Editors
CIC EDITORIAL ANALYSIS
FOR UPND TO SECURE FIVE MILLION VOTES TARGET SET BY HH SOME OFFICIALS AND CADRES MUST BE TAMED FROM MAKING CARELESS STATEMENTS AND PROVOCATIVE ACTIONS.
No doubt this was supposed to be an easy or walk-over kind of election going by the popular narrative that there is no opposition. However thanks to UPND self-destructive approach on certain matters they have helped the opposition regain track and be a factor. While President HH remains the biggest and favourite candidate among the top contenders with zero competition to match his level, demerits costing his political image are coming not from the opposition but from UPND itself.
Simply put some UPND senior officials are too excited for nothing others making provocative statements others calling provocative shots all leading to the opposite environment that can secure 5 million votes target set by President HH. The very fact that anyone can speak anyhow compounded with conflicting statement same party same people who seat in the same meetings yet different statements makes things worse for the rulling party.
An approach to understand why UPND candidates went independent is needed as post-Adoption exercise because these are numbers that negate 5 million targets. The approach used was daring and unprofessional even when the president came to speak about it in a polite way it was not enough because the damage had already sunk.
According to Deputy Secretary General Ms Getrude Imenda as quoted by News diggers she said the double adoption process was a gimmick in an event one fails to file in another one moves in. But the catastrophe that followed countrywide from this exercise anyone can deduce that either communication and sensitization was not properly done on how candidates must take each other in queue by agreeing who is the adopted and who is the second choice incase the adopted fails was not done. Everyone given adoption rushed to file in leading to disaster we saw. The UPND adoption process has left the party divided in a way it would take a lot to reunite people.
Like a moment at war in a nation everyone becomes important as long as they can lift a rifle and aim at the enemy, certain procedures and rules are omitted due to the sacred rush to defend the country from the enemy. Right now UPND needs more numbers beyond its own structures and members if the target set by the president is to be realized and achieved. We agree with Copperbelt Provincial Chairperson Mr Elisha Matambo calling on the need to win back independent candidates because they hold numbers downstream to their supporters, numbers needed to add value to the reality of 5 million target. Some candidates it wasn’t their wish to go independent but the communities they serve made a choice and condition that they do so and some will even win and add votes to the presidency of HH and his dream of 5 million votes.
Alas you have other officials in the same UPND demonizing Independent candidates to the level of classifying them as opposition. This is suicidal and unpolitical. Only a person who doesn’t understand politics does this and who doesn’t understand what is at stake, takes this route with such arrogance. Do these same arrogance officials have an idea what awaits them in an event HH lost August 2026 elections first of all? Late ECL was just one person, the system he built of PF is still intact given back power everything you knew about PF comes back maybe even worse. Matured people who knows this horror would think twice to entertain any idea that threatens the victory of HH in August 13 elections.
Even powerful countries needs allies and mercenaries for certain objectives to be achieved during war. There is strength in numbers are these UPND officials aware of this statement?
What makes these excited officials of UPND to think they got everything covered they don’t need independent candidates! They think UPND structures officials and members are enough to secure HH’s victory alone? CIC as the Zambia’s biggest platform on the ground that has covered UPND in many elections from as far as 2026 and thousands by elections have documented some bad habits at times that costs the party from it’s internal inertia of doing things than external pressure from opposition which mainly does not exist especially now that they are the rulling party.
For instance while UPND lost Chawama seat by elections in Lusaka due to intense political tussle on merit, it was negligence caused by UPND officials they were overzealous, relaxed and unwilling to listen to advise that cost them in Petauke while certain by elections led by leaders such as Hon Elvis Nkandu always records victories. The pattern is not magical or natural it’s doing the right thing at the right time by understanding and respecting what is at stake and what to do. Hon Nkandu simply beats them at this game. It’s no surprise even his nominations in KAPUTA was like victory celebration that’s what we call A POLITICIAN.
Some inflammatory statements have put UPND in an alkwad position against the public not necessarily the targeted individuals. Point in reference is the attempt to block former local government minister Hon Gary Nkombo went down as a biggest error that put the party in disrepute with the public. While the Republican President acted swiftly to contain the matter by insisting all forms of political violence must be delt with by the law enforcement it sat well yet contradicted the party’s National youth chairman Mr Gilbert Liswaniso who is on record warning that whoever goes independent must be delt with. Compounding the independent candidate’s defiance and many issues arising from the adoption process with days not years to go for the general elections, UPND if they care and respect the president and realize his mission for 5 million votes this is a wrong time to discard people especially independents as long as they have not yet pledged loyalty to another presidential candidates other than HH.
The rift and hatred towards personalities is a misplaced priority for now when the real enemy is the opposition gaining momentum and may capitalise on the UPND wrangles. The warnings from Southern Province Chairperson Mr Billy Makwembo that any independent candidates using the name of the president won’t be allowed or materials is another political miscalculation that can cost UPND badly. We know the target is Hon Gary Nkombo but truth be told the man right now holds the cards he must be treated with respect and caution if politics really matters unlike being demonized he is not on a ballot to challenge president HH but if not handled with caution he can mess things up badly he has national leverage and support anyone will be a fool to undermine and underrate.
Regardless of what he did and what caused him to be fired leading to him failing out of favor, he still remains one of the top respected national figures in the UPND at national level commanding huge respect for the role he played in UPND during opposition, He still respects recognizes and respects the president HH but the way some excited officials and cadres are behaving they are not hurting him but the party. Even now people are making comparisons on how he managed as Chairperson for Elections compared to how his successor Hon Likando Mufalari has handled the adoption process numbers on any poll will reveal that Hon Nkombo is ahead of Hon Mufalari on this exercise.
In sports statistics backed by numbers tells the reality and details of the players and clubs. UPND needs independent candidates especially those that have remained and openly said they will vote for HH and campaign for HH, for now Mr Gilbert Liswaniso must be advised that it’s war time where rules and laws do not apply until the presidential vote is secured. If HH was to lose, Zambians will never forgive anyone of these officials because you are going to take the country backwards which will be a century if not millennium for Zambia to have a sober president like HH. Therefore UPND must be serious and take this election very seriously and cautious in whatever they say and whatever they do.
Excited cadres disrespecting former UPND figures must be tamed, excited officials making unnecessary and provocative statements must stop what is important now is unity it’s too late people have already filed in as independent candidates there is no going back the only option is to reach out to them and struck deals to work together not discard them unless one is not a politician and does not understand the power of numbers outpace rules or laws in a high stake election like this August 13.
CIC PRESS TEAM