Battle lines have been drawn, the political stage is warming up, as parties and candidates hit the campaign trail.
For some, the much anticipated 2021 elections is like any other polls, however, for others it is more than a battle for supremacy, but a case of life and death.
As for President Edgar Lungu, and his arch rival Hakainde Hichilema, it is a grudge match, some critics have noted.
While the political field is filled to the brim with a number of political parties coming to the fore, analysts believe the real action will be on two lanes only.
According to Dr. Cleopas Sambo from the Department of Social Work & Sociology at the University of Zambia, the forthcoming plebiscite will be a two men horse race.
“As of today, it’s fair to say that Zambia’s 2021 election is a two-way race between Lungu and Hichilema,” he says.
He rules out the possibility of a dark horse emerging. “One can wish the leading alternative was someone else, but he is not,” he adds.
He maintains that, any ballot cast not for Hichilema, would be as good as voting for the incumbent to continue his stay at State House.
“A vote for anyone other than Hichilema is a vote to keep Lungu in office. That is the reality we are in,” he says.
Meanwhile, President Lungu is fighting for a third term in office, while Hichilema is fighting for his seemingly last political life.