The whole truth about next year’s elections is that, the United Party for National Development (UPND) and it’s leader Hakainde Hichilema is more likely to win and become President of Zambia.
Of course this is not something that Patriotic Front (PF) members want to hear. While many of them do see that the ground is ripe for Hakainde to become President, they still want to pretend that the opposite is true. But we must be very honest with ourselves in all we do. Therefore, PF must be honest to accept that not all is how they would want them to be. The old hackneyed song that HH is not on the ground and mainly on social media is now sleep inducing. You do not count on the weakness of your opponent as enough reason to celebrate your own victory.
But given the caliber of characters in the corridors of power in PF, they do not understand a thing about rationality and authenticity. To them, HH is still the person they had successfully tagged as a tribalist, a Satanist and someone who privatised mines.
What many characters in PF do not know is that, these tags they keep on putting on Hakainde do not have any significant bearing in the voter next year. Yes, you may have successfully branded Hakainde in the past but the current voter doesn’t know about all that and is way ahead of such pettiness. Many new voters – those who were 7,8,9 and 10 years in 2011 – will be 19,20,21 and 22 next year. This is a demography that knows nothing about tribalism and the allegation that Hakainde sold mines. When you insistently tell them about this that Hakainde sold mines, they probably wonder what that is all about because they are not directly affected with the privatisation that took place in 90s.
This is why, Hakainde seems to be doing very fine. The people he has hired to brand him do understand that dynamics have changed and they have diagnosed a perfect way of tapping into the new voters.
Often than not, PF has tried to ride on the name of their late founding leader Michael Sata. But do they think someone who was 8,9,10 and 11 years in 2011 can still remember something about Sata?
Impossible!
Hakainde is way ahead of PF. And this is because characters that surround Edgar Lungu are more of tsetse flies than useful people. All they know is to feed Edgar lies. On the other hand, Hakainde has objective people who are advising him correctly.
Currently, the PF can only count on the demography that voted for it in 2016. But if they’re honest with themselves, how many of those that voted for them can still proudly vote for them again next year? We all know that, even some of the staunchest supporters who voted for Edgar in 2016 will stay home or even vote for Hakainde next year.
These are truths which anyone is free to verify. We are not here to tell lies and please anyone but to say the truth as it is. And this truth is Hakainde is headed for victory in 2021 should Edgar and his minions continue on their destructive path of self appeasement.
Editorial at Kwacha Times