IT’S OUR PRAYER THAT LOSING CANDIDATES WILL SUPPORT NEW LEADERSHIP – LUBINDA
GIVEN Lubinda says PF will come out of the convention more invigorated to inspire citizens to give it a fresh mandate in 2026.
Lubinda adds that it is the prayer and desire of every Patriotic Front member that losing candidates will not leave the party, but will instead support the victors.
Last Wednesday, University of Zambia political historian Professor Bizeck Phiri said he prayed that the PF would be focused and united after the convention so that the country can have a strong opposition in 2026.
Prof Phiri said a weak opposition was not good for democracy.
In an interview, Sunday, Lubinda said citizens would make an informed decision in the 2026 elections as they would be comparing what the PF did to what the UPND had done.
“The PF has always been the major political party in Zambia since 2011, and we lost elections in 2021 not because we were a small party. We lost elections in 2021 because people were comparing our practical work against promises. And it is easier for people to believe promises because promises are always made in a manner that they are believed. And over the last five years, the UPND has worked extremely hard to take the Patriotic Front into extinction, and they have failed. The reason they have failed is because the Patriotic Front is no longer just a political party. The Patriotic Front is a movement, and because it is a movement, it is not easy for it to be obliterated. The Patriotic Front is a formidable movement and indeed we are going to the convention,” he said.
“All the time when people go to the convention, it is to renew the mandate of leadership. After the leadership has been renewed, obviously everybody will come out with vigor and fire, and what Professor Phiri is saying is the truth: we shall come out of the convention more invigorated to inspire the Zambian people for them to give a fresh mandate to the Patriotic Front because in the elections of 2026, they will not be comparing reality against a mirage. They will be comparing work for work, they will be comparing what the PF did and what the UPND have done, and they will make an informed decision”.
And commenting on Prof Phiri’s remark that those who would lose at the PF convention should not leave the party but support those who would emerge victorious, Lubinda said that was the prayer of every genuine party member.
“That is the prayer of every genuine member of the Patriotic Front and we pray to God that he grants us our prayer. That is our prayer, that is the desire of every member of the Patriotic Front,” he said.
Asked how the preparations for the convention were going, Lubinda said very well.
“It’s going very well, it’s going exceedingly well. PF is already strong. The PF is not in disarray. That’s why I am answering you that a party which is in disarray cannot go to a convention, how can it? It’s not possible for any organisation that is in disarray to go for a convention. It’s only a [united] organisation that can organise a convention,” said Lubinda.
News Diggers