DISCONTENT IS RISING
There is absolutely no doubt that currently, the country is in a state of despair and anxiety, both politically and socio-economically. Our people are living as if they are on death row. They are taking one day at a time, without knowing what tomorrow may bring. It’s a life of uncertainty, helplessness, and desperation for many people.
We would like to point the current UPND government to the increasing discontent with their intolerance, repression, human rights violations, and insensitivity to the plight of the suffering majority.
Their style of governance in a constitutional democracy, abuse of state institutions, heightened human rights and constitutional violations, harsh economic situation, has left multitudes of citizens frustrated and disgruntled, and compelled them to lose confidence in the country’s processes and systems such as law enforcement, judiciary and legislature, and our democratic trajectory in general. And this is not a good sign of what lies ahead for them.
The UPND government must know that the accelerated assault on political opponents and critical voices has exposed their obsession with power and blatant neglect for the people and their aspirations. For them, governance is all about self-preservation, personal glorification, and wealth accumulation.
Evidently, the UPND administration has no respect for our constitution and democracy. And to prove this, one doesn’t have to go far. Just look at how they have destroyed almost all critical institutions of governance, including the once well-regarded Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). The ECZ in its current state is not serving tge interests of the people. We have said it before and we are repeating that at the rate things are going, if sanity does not prevail, for the first time in history, we shall fail to organize and hold successful general elections in 2026.
We have seen the abuse of state institutions and systems in by-elections to propel the UPND’s electoral malpractices, violence, and vote-buying, as well as all sorts of criminalities. Cabinet ministers and district commissioners are committing crimes in these by-elections with impunity as the ECZ, police and other stakeholders continue to turn a blind eye.
This is the kind of democracy that the UPND is pretentiously advancing in this country today, and they expect competing political players to keep quiet and watch. But time will tell. Zambians will resist it. Zambians will fight for their liberties and rights. Zambians will not allow the UPND and its leaders to undermine the significance of democracy as a political process intended to guarantee citizen’s rights and freedoms. Zambians will not allow the UPND government to diminish the inclusive reputation of governance in reflecting the shared desires of the masses.
For now, those in power today can comfort each other by believing their own propaganda, but reality will dawn soon.
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party