OPPOSITION IN ZAMBIA YAMADONGO DONGO
The Candidate’s Comment
When you view the political dynamics with an open, honest, and critical mind, you will agree that currently, the opposition is in disarray. The opposition, both in their individual and collective capacity, can not win 2026 elections. The opposition is fragmented, and in their individualism, they lack the potency to unseat the ruling United Party for National Development(UPND) and Hakainde Hichilema in 2026. This is mainly because the leaders of these so-called opposition parties are not known enough countrywide and also because there is little or nothing they’re doing to ensure that they mobilise support countrywide.
Anyone is free not to agree with us. They can form their own opinions, and that is okay. Our view finds expression in honesty, in reality. Many of these so-called opposition leaders and their parties are underrating Hakainde. They think Hakainde doesn’t want to continue ruling beyond one term, and they think he doesn’t know what he is doing. This is someone who managed to unseat a ruling party, having failed to do so in many years. Hakainde is not a small or weak person that many people think he is. This is someone who is tough tested and if you are going to grab government from him, you better do more than post a few things on social media here and there, without really getting to work, on the ground.
We remember that the very day when the Electoral Commission of Zambia announced results that Hakainde lost, he would embark on campaigns immediately. Hakainde never stopped campaigns. Hakainde never stopped fighting. He never stopped pushing. His victory is perhaps sweet because the man really fought for it. It would have been very unfair if Hakainde had never become president in his lifetime because the man fought really hard to be where he is today. We do not see the kind of personality of Hakainde among the current crop of opposition leaders today. Yes, they can talk loudly on top of their voices, but many of them – if not all – are only social media leaders worth nothing to talk about, really .When you go into many rural areas and ask people about these opposition characters, people hardly know them. How can they win a national election if they’re not known beyond their social media reach?
We do not intend to belittle whatever efforts the opposition, collectively, are doing , but clearly, whatever it is they are doing isn’t enough to win power. It is foolish for anyone to think Hakainde will lose power on the premise that mealie meal prices have increased or because of fuel prices. The economy status of Zambia has never really been a single deciding factor in elections if history is followed. Rupiah Banda’s administration was very much doing great economically when he was removed from power by Michael Sata in 2011.
Elections are decided by many compounding factors , beyond a few economic hardships here and there. And besides, it is not like Hakainde hasnt done anything good, any marvelous things worth celebrating and praising by some factions of voters. Hasn’t he employed civil servants massively? Hasn’t he ended the levels of caderism? Hasn’t Hakainde done some good things? Of course, he has scored on some fronts and we believe, he will still score on many fronts before 2026.
If you’re going to win elections, there has to be more stamina. When Hakainde was in opposition, for example, when he was summoned to appear before law enforcement agencies, the tension was felt countrywide.Why? Because Hakainde transformed himself into an institution and not an individual. We can say the same about Michael Sata when he was in opposition. This transformation is not cheap. This transformation doesn’t come easily and the current crop opposition leaders are far from it.
If you think Hakainde will lose elections in 2026, with the current status quo, of opposition leaders , dream on. It is like a pig flying.