NRPUP: DON’T START ACTING LIKE YOU HAVE ALREADY WON

NRPUP: DON’T START ACTING LIKE YOU HAVE ALREADY WON

The Candidates’ Comment
Washington, DC, United States

There is an old saying in politics: power does not always change people—it often reveals them.

That is why some supporters are beginning to ask an uncomfortable question: why are some NRPUP leaders already becoming so difficult to reach before a single ballot has even been counted?

Politics is a game of irony. Yesterday, every supporter was “my brother,” “my sister,” and “please call me anytime.” Today, some supporters say their calls go unanswered and messages receive no reply. If accessibility starts disappearing before election day, people naturally wonder what it would look like after victory.

Supporters are not just human loudspeakers to be remembered during campaign rallies and forgotten afterward. They are the people walking dusty roads, defending the party in markets, on buses, in villages, on Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and everywhere else. They are the ones persuading undecided voters while spending their own money. The least they deserve is to know that someone is listening.

Not every person calling a party official wants a job or financial help. Some want to share information. Others want to report problems in their communities. Some simply want to feel that the movement they have sacrificed for still values them.

Ignoring such people is not just bad manners—it is bad politics.

NRPUP has presented itself as an alternative to the politics many Zambians have grown tired of. If that is true, then this is the perfect moment to demonstrate it. A party cannot promise servant leadership while practicing VIP politics before reaching government.

Another question deserves attention: why does it sometimes appear that nearly every senior leader is travelling together?

Campaigns are not won by producing the biggest convoy. They are won by producing the biggest organization.

When one team addresses voters in one district, another team should be strengthening structures elsewhere. While Brian Mundubile campaigns in one area, other senior leaders should be mobilizing different provinces, training volunteers, meeting local structures, resolving disputes, and ensuring the campaign never sleeps.

A campaign headquarters should function like an emergency room.Someone must always be on duty. Information should flow continuously. Problems should be solved immediately. Volunteers should know exactly whom to contact.

Instead, supporters should never be left wondering whether everyone has climbed onto the same campaign bus.

Large rallies create headlines. Organization wins elections.

Every rally should leave behind functioning ward committees, voter educators, volunteer coordinators, polling agents, communication teams and people responsible for maintaining momentum long after the microphones have been switched off.

The campaign should not end when the presidential motorcade disappears over the horizon.

This election will not simply be won through speeches. It will be won through planning, discipline, communication and thousands of ordinary people who believe their contribution matters.

The greatest danger facing any political movement is believing its own excitement. Crowds are encouraging, but crowds do not vote by themselves. Likes on social media are encouraging, but they are not ballot papers. Confidence is healthy. Complacency is fatal.

If NRPUP genuinely wants to convince Zambians that it represents a different style of leadership, then it should begin by remaining accessible, organized and humble while still seeking the people’s mandate.

Because the easiest election to lose is the one you start celebrating before polling day.