The Socialist Forum of Ghana has observed that President Edgar Lungu and his team are planning to rig next year’s elections.
Commenting on the arrest of Socialist Party general secretary Cosmas Musumali and other party members in Kafulafuta last Thursday, the Forum however warned draconian actions could not stop the will of the people.
“We recall that cadres of the SFG and a news team from Pan African Television who were invited to participate in the inauguration of the Socialist Party of Zambia, were arrested and deported without any explanation,” the Forum’s secretary of the standing committee Nana Yaw Appiah-Kubi said in a statement. “The arrest of Comrade Musumali and others at a time when Zambia is preparing for parliamentary [and presidential] elections confirms fears in Zambia and the international community that the government of Edgar Lungu is scheming to rig the elections to prolong its neo-colonial stronghold on the masses. We wish to remind the government of Zambia that draconian and repressive measures cannot halt the advance of the working people in the building of a just society anchored on the principles of socialism and Pan Africanism.”
Appiah-Kubi stated that the Zambian government was feeling the impact of checks and balances provide by Dr Musumali and other members of his party.
“The Socialist Party of Zambia is increasingly becoming popular because it is providing a credible alternative to the backward and reactionary policies of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF). This alternative focuses on improving the people’s access to such social services as education, health and housing in addition to creating meaningful jobs for the youth,” stated Appiah-Kubi. “The Socialist Forum of Ghana extends its full solidarity to the leadership and members of the Socialist Party of Zambia in the face of the needless aggression of the Lungu government and we assure the working people of Zambia that they are not alone. The progressive peoples of the world will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them until final victory against the forces of neo-colonialism pursuing a bare-faced neo-liberal agenda is achieved.”