CHAWAMA VICTORY SHOWS THAT DEMOCRACY IS ALIVE – LUBINDA

CHAWAMA VICTORY SHOWS THAT DEMOCRACY IS ALIVE – LUBINDA

GIVEN Lubinda says the outcome of the Chawama by-election sends a clear message that democracy is alive and leadership cannot be bought.

And PF presidential aspirant Brian Mundubile says the Chawama by-election result is citizens’ feedback to government that they are not satisfied with the way it has been governing the country.

On Thursday, Bright Nundwe, using the FDD through the Tonse Alliance won the by-election in Chawama.

In a statement, Sunday, Lubinda said the results revealed a growing national resolve among Zambians to reclaim their voice and demand leadership that listened, respected and delivered.

“I address the people of Zambia today with humility, gratitude, and an unshakable sense of duty. The outcome of the Chawama by-election is not the victory of an individual or a single political organisation; it is a victory of conscience, courage, and the sovereign will of the Zambian people.

The people of Chawama have reminded the nation of a timeless truth; leadership is not bought, and democracy cannot be intimidated. In the face of pressure, inducements, and fear, they chose integrity over convenience and principle over coercion.

Their message is clear and unmistakable, our democracy is alive, and our people are alert. This moment also stands as a solemn tribute to the values and leadership associated with Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

The ideals of humility, national unity, and respect for the ordinary citizen continue to inspire millions across our country. Chawama did not merely vote; it affirmed those enduring principles,” said Lubinda.

“January 15th was not an isolated event. It marked a turning point. The result has revealed a growing national resolve, a quiet but firm determination among Zambians to reclaim their voice and demand leadership that listens, respects, and delivers.

What we witnessed in Chawama is a blueprint for peaceful, people-centred political renewal across the nation. I extend sincere appreciation to the Patriotic Front leadership, our partners in the Tonse Alliance, the campaign teams on the ground, and the media practitioners who worked under difficult circumstances to ensure transparency and truth.

Your commitment strengthened democracy. To Zambians everywhere across provinces, across party lines, and across generations, this moment belongs to you. The future of our nation will not be shaped by fear or division, but by courage, unity, and moral clarity”.

Meanwhile, speaking on BM8 Unfiltered, Friday, Mundubile said the people who voted in the Chawama by-election are the same people whose promises of cheap mealie meal and fuel have not been fulfilled.

“It must be understood that an election is a channel through which citizens give feedback to government so that particular election gave feedback to government. If President Hakainde Hichilema and his Cabinet are serious with what they are doing, we expect them to change the approach as they respond to the citizens because they’ve been saying, look, we’ve worked, its 95 percent, until 2090, it’s kwenyu, so through yesterday’s (Thursday) defeat, kwenyu is buried.

Kwenyu is a way of amplifying small projects, make them seem big because the performance by government has been small and then they’ve gone to these small projects and using the kwenyu formula, they try to make them look big. But the people of Chawama actually responded to say look, forget about kwenyu, the CDF you’ve been singing about is not enough, the free education is not properly implemented,” Mundubile noted.

“That’s clear feedback against the policy that government is putting in place right now. So, what government is supposed to do [is], they are supposed to now go back to the drawing board and look at the free education policy, for instance, where you have 120 learners against one teacher, you have the CDF, for instance, to be the only route through which development is being implemented.

So, the people of Chawama have actually given government very good feedback to rethink their policies, they’ve got a few months to go, I don’t really know whether they are able to change the situation.

The people that voted in that election are the people that were promised to buy mealie meal at K50 and are now paying K400 for a bag. The voters in Chawama are the voters who were promised that fuel will cost K10 per litre now fuel is at K30”.

Mundubile said the opposition was looking forward to the Kasama by-election as it will also provide feedback to government.

“That election will provide a platform through which the Zambian people in Kasama, in Northern Province, will be able to give some feedback to government on how they are governing so it’s a very critical election. Secondly, it’s a mayoral seat, it was our seat, we need to replace the late Theresa Kolala with Peter Yuda Chikweti who is our candidate.

Elections are very important, especially in the election year, as political parties, you also gauge your strength using elections, there’s no other way. You have to go to an election to know how weak or how strong you are so it will be very important, that’s a precursor. Even as opposition political parties, we’ll gauge our strength using that particular election, so we are all looking forward to it,” he said.

The PF presidential aspirant further said the people of Chawama showed government that power lies with the people.

“You’ve been reading these things; people are saying there’s no opposition, one, we have done 90 percent of the work, there is no opposition, bally until 2090, that sounds very arrogant. As leaders, people are the ones who give us power.

So, if as a member of parliament, as a leader, I’m elected by the people, as a president, I’m elected by the people, it’s not me to say until 2090 or it’s not my party to say until 2090.

The people I’m working for, the people that I serve should be the ones to tell me to say ‘sir, you’ve achieved, you promised us a bag of mealie meal would cost K50, it’s now at K25, sir you ought to continue because instead of fuel being at K11, it’s now at K6’,” he explained.

“That is what you expect from people who want to serve but the moment you make statements that make the voter seem as if they do not matter, they will show you that they indeed matter, so that’s what the people of Chawama did.

Some of the people who live in Chawama are among the farmers that have not been paid for the maize they supplied to FRA. When you go to Chawama and get a cross section of the people living there, an average Zambian is represented in that particular community.

What the people of Chawama are going through, to a great extent, is what all the other Zambians are going through. The poverty that is in Chawama is the poverty that I left in Kasama. So, if that election was in Kasama, the result wouldn’t have been very different. I think it’s a very important result for the Zambian people because they’ve given feedback to the country”.

He reiterated the importance of unity in the opposition.

“There were a number of political parties that were competing in that particular election but the competition was just between two political parties.

There may have been 10 political parties contesting but the competition, the contest, was just between two political parties. What were the Zambian people saying? Let’s take for instance, I saw one of the polling stations, a political party scoring four, others were getting one, it may not mean that they only have one member in that particular locality but their members realised that if we thinly spread the vote, we’ll end up losing to the ruling party.

So, some of the members of the other political parties, simply went and gave the party that they thought was going to win the election the vote because they’ve got an objective to achieve. They knew that if they vote anyhow, we will lose,” said Mundubile.

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