By Kellys Kaunda
HAVE YOU IMAGINED HOW ELECTION OBSERVER REPORTS WILL READ LIKE?
Imagine a man kicking and knocking down his wife. Next, he punches his son in the face. His daughter receives an unexpected slap that sends her crashing against the wall.
When his dog barks, he picks the nearest object and hurls it at the hapless animal. When he notices neighbors watching, he slams the door so hard, it almost comes off its hinges.
While all this is happening, his in-laws are around because they are visiting. And they have been around a few days now and will be a few more additional days.
What impression do you think they have gotten arising from this conduct? Your guess is as good as mine.
This is what is happening in Zambia today. The UPND government is kicking the opposition left right and center literally making it unnecessarily hard to enjoy its basic political rights.
They get blocked, their vehicles damaged, they are arrested, and they are abducted. They are so afraid of going to the President’s place of origin, they chose to hold a virtual rally.
Meanwhile, election monitors and observers are in the country. They are witnesses to all these developments. What impression do you think they have gotten?
I can’t wait to read their reports. But one thing I am sure about is that some observers who do not massage facts will have some dark sections of the report.
Will Zambia’s ‘premier league’ status be maintained after these elections? I am beginning to doubt that very much.
One lesson unfolding before all of us is that how various parties to an election, especially the ruling party, behave has a lot to do with the image of the country in the eyes of the international community
The respect for human rights during this period is observed closely by our development partners. They demonstrated this in 2021 and will do the same this time around.
Some countries have incurred sanctions in cases where abuses were widespread.