LET UKA MEMBERS CHOOSE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE THROUGH “UKA PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES” IN TEN PROVINCES

LET UKA MEMBERS CHOOSE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE THROUGH  “UKA PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES” IN TEN PROVINCES

By Pst. Kennedy K. Mambwe

As a journalist, political analyst and independent observer, I have followed the developments in UKA with keen interest from the first day the Alliance was announced.

I have closely watched with great admiration how political party leaders have respectfully yielded to each other in a rare show of comradely and unity of purpose to find common ground and field a single candidate in the 2026 elections.

Although the Alliance has been lauded by many stakeholders, parties were never oblivious to a turbulent road ahead including a potential emotional rollercoaster among a broad membership spectrum as we have started to witness through differences in opinions as to who is best suited to lead the Alliance.

One of the major sticky issues that until now remained a mere whisper among Alliance partners, supporters and sympathizers alike, was how UKA was going to arrive at the choice of who should be the flag bearer in 2026.

If UKA has come up with the rules of engagement on how they will elect their representative, it must then be a very well guarded secret that the Council of Presidents (COP) are keeping close to their chests.

However, in the absence of a clear roadmap and timelines, the leadership vacuum is beginning to be felt and the suspense has resulted in outbursts among faithful supporters who want the COP to settle on one name.

The hope and prayers by many Zambians is that UKA should remain united as their name suggests. The COP should avoid the infamous “Mingalato” among themselves and prove to the nation that their coming together is steeped in shared values to work together in national interest.

In my view, if UKA is willing, they can give new meaning to democracy in Zambia by doing something that has never been done before. UKA can make  history by launching the UKA Presidential Primaries in all 10 Provinces by doing the following:

1. Launch the Presidential Primaries and give power to the Zambians to decide who should be the UKA Presidential nominee

2. As part of this democratic drive, conduct countrywide tours and jointly hold rallies

3. During the rallies to be held centrally in each of the 10 Provinces, COP should not debate each other, but speak to real issues affecting the nation

4. Constitute provincial electoral colleges comprising equal representation from Alliance partners

5. Conduct elections at the end of each provincial rally through the electoral college

6. A Presidential candidate who wins more Provincial electoral college votes becomes the UKA Presidential Candidate as voted by the people

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR UKA AND THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY IN ZAMBIA?

1. Party members across Alliance partners will work as a team to organize the provincial electoral college and rallies

2. The electoral college provincial tours will galvanize and entrech UKA countrywide

3. UKA can use this as a pre-2026 elections campaign

4. It will strengthen democracy in Zambia

5. It will unlock resources early from potential funders

6. It will make UKA more visible and attractive

7. It will be very cost effective as Alliance partners will be hosting a single political event jointly to allow the college to elect their representative

CONCLUSION
If UKA was to adopt this approach, it will make their work very easy to test the most popular candidate among themselves by allowing the UKA Presidential Primaries at provincial level in every province. By so doing, UKA will curtail emotional outbursts and conspiracy theories about who should be the touch bearer. Let UKA give power back to the people as if it’s election time! Done well,  no one and nothing will stop the will of the people for their preferred candidate to be on the ballot!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Author is a Political Analyst, Media and Public Relations Consultant. He is also the Founder and CEO of KBN TV