By Patson Chilemba
There is no doubt that Hakainde Hichilema should be the opposition alliance’s presidential candidate, says opposition UPND deputy secretary general Patrick Mucheleka.
And Mucheleka said the running mate will be about who is perceived to bring more value to the alliance, from the other alliance partners, including National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader Chishimba Kambwili, Alliance for Development and Democracy (ADD) president Charles Milupi and Republican Progressive party leader James Lukuku.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Mucheleka said Hichilema should certainly be the presidential candidate as he was heading the largest opposition political party, with over 56 members of parliament.
“That’s without doubt and I speak from very strong conviction. He has what it takes apart from being the president of the biggest opposition political party, we are also looking for the much required skill which he has to manage the county’s economy which is in doldrums,” Mucheleka said. “We need an economic manager to deal with the issue and that is where president Hakainde Hichilema comes in. Yes he may not be able to work alone but he needs to be supported by others, including other opposition political parties, including all of us in the UPND.”
Mucheleka said Hichilema will be in the alliance’s driving seat, despite the propaganda that was being thrown at him from the ruling PF and its surrogates.
He said the running mate will come from the other alliance partners, but could not mention the name.
Asked why he wasn’t forthright on the running mate in the same manner he was over the presidency, Mucheleka said he had mentioned the president as it would be provided from his party.
“The running mate, the opposition political alliance partners are also able to bring a running mate, it can even be James Lukuku. He’s an alliance partner,” Mucheleka said.
But asked why he was not using the same rationale he used when he said Hichilema should be the candidate because of his political standing, and if he could compare the popularity of Lukuku with that of Kambwili, or even Milupi, Mucheleka said he had a lot of respect for all of them as genuine opposition leaders, as they had weathered the storms, saying it would be illogical for him at this moment to say “this one or that one.”
Mucheleka said the alliance members must listen to what the people were saying, including from important stakeholders in the civil society, churches, the labour movement and academia, who had requested them to put self interest aside, in the same manner the opposition did in Malawi.
“It will be very arrogant of anyone, including myself to think that on our own, even with or without an alliance we can make it. I will not do that it’s important that we listen to what people are saying. And you must understand that politics is also a game of perception. People expect us to work together, people expect us to join hands and we must be able to listen,” Mucheleka said, while insisting that Hichilema should lead the alliance. “The reality is that he’s the biggest opposition political party wIth over 56 members of parliament, ok. I am using evidence.”
Mucheleka said with regards to the other alliance members, the issue boils down to perception.
“On HH it is evidence based that’s why I have advanced my arguments. Whereas for the others it is about perception. Who is perceived to bring value to the alliance? I want to tell you something, that they have all brought a lot of value, there is no one who is more valuable than the other. President Lukuku has his own strengths what he brings to the table, so is the same with president Milupi and indeed president Kambwili,” Mucheleka said. “Secondly we must understand also that we are dealing with PF here, they are also waiting to pounce on us by whatever means to try and disturbilise us. We will not give them that opportunity and this is why we are playing our cards very close to our chests. Decision point is coming just now. We will be doing it.”
Mucheleka said he understood ruling PF members Colonel Panji Kaunda, who said that he wanted the Edgar Lungu-led PF to be voted out so that the ruling party could start afresh after ridding it of all the corrupt elements. However, Col Panji urged those in the opposition alliance to handle matters more seriously, especially that there was very little time remaining before the elections.
“We have raised anxiety among our people, some who think that we are not serious as opposition alliance and we seem to be procrastinating, but we want to assure the people that we are doing everything possible to see to it that when we agree we shall not be able to disappoint the people of Zambia,” Mucheleka said. “The people of Zambia are seriously looking for an alternative. For us as UPND being the biggest opposition party we know the responsibility that we carry of also bringing on board our alliance partners, those who are genuine opposition political parties.”
He said the alliance partners had taken time as they needed to understand each other as political parties so that when an important decision was made, they will have already dealt with all the teething problems that might arise if the decision was rushed.
“So we are seriously agreeing with what Panji has said and something is being done,” Mucheleka said.
Mucheleka, who is in Lukashya campaigning for the UPND parliamentary candidate in the forthcoming by-election, said he was confident the UPND would scoop the seat.
“And the people have lost confidence in the PF and it’s leadership so they are trying to bring in thugs from intercity but it won’t work. The people are ready to defend themselves and defend the candidate as well as the party,” said Mucheleka. -Daily Revelation