PF CAN BOUNCE BACK
The Candidates’ Comment
There is a myth that once a party loses elections in Zambia, it eventually dies. When people are discussing about the chances of survival for a former ruling party, they point to UNIP and MMD. Even Hakainde Hichilema is telling voters that they should vote for his candidates because the Patriotic Front (PF) is dead just like UNIP and MMD died after losing power.
Hakainde is not God to determine the fate of a political party. A few years ago, it was not possible to imagine that United Party for National Development (UPND) could win elections in Zambia. When one spoke about UPND, to an average Zambian, this party was synonymous to regionalism, tribalism. The type of politics that were practiced in UPND was very tribal in nature. We know of many people who left UPND on account of being discriminated on tribal lines. The leadership of UPND conducted their activities on tribal lines. This is not a secret.
We remember that political opponents of the UPND, would always say, Hakainde will never rule because of his regionalized politics. Where is Hakainde today? Isn’t the same person whom some people said would never rule Zambia, a President?
No human hold the monopoly of destiny for any situation. The PF was removed from power because it made mistakes. It made mistakes because it is led by humans who are prone to stumble. The PF was replaced by a party that is led by humans who are equally prone to stumble. There was a point when PF was so desirable to the people. Whenever Hakainde spoke anything against PF; he was called all sorts of names. But as life has it, it is the same people who were once desirable, who became unattractive.
UPND is in power today on condition that they do things that find expression in the interest of the people. If UPND does not impress the people, they will be removed in the same way UNIP, MMD and PF were removed from power and another party will be ushered in.
If you look at the 2021 elections, there is nothing significant which UPND did to win the elections.The results were largely determined by the failures and conduct of the PF. PF was its own destruction and UPND seized the opportunity. At the time the people became so angry with PF, the main opposition happen to be UPND which occupied that position in 2011 by chance. The people made a choice to remove PF and by consequence, a party that had the highest chances to win the election benefited heavily and won the election.
Currently, people can talk all they want against PF and that it shall never rule again. That is their feelings but that does not constitute the truth. It is God who knows what will happen to a single party. Look at what happened in Malawi. Didn’t a former ruling party bounce back in power?
At the moment, the greatest majority of the people are still drunk with the excitement of ushering a new administration of Hakainde. A few months or perhaps years from now, the same people who are celebrated today will become loathed by the same people celebrating them, once certain promises are not fulfilled. It will only take a few promises to be broken before people begin to detest the new administration.
All what the PF need is to usher in a new leader and begin to reorganize themselves in the same way the former ruling party of Malawi did. As they do so, they need to admit that they wronged people of Zambia and they have to be honest about it. If possible, the PF need to outline some of the things they have realized they did wrong which offended people. They need to engage the people on various platforms and apologize for the wrongs they committed. Once a sober leader is chosen and apologies are made sincerely, they can begin to work on how to become a better entity. The choice is with PF and its members. If they choose to fight for positions, they will die like UNIP and MMD. If they do not take stock of their own faults they will not be forgiven and the people will continue to reject them.
For now, the PF has no moral right to expect any love from the people. They hurt people of this country a lot. What is worse is that majority people loved and still love the PF too much. Their hate comes from the magnitude of disappointment from a party that gave people hope. If you ask people to choose whether to be led by a Capitalist party of Hakainde which serves the interests of the West or a pro-poor party like PF, they will choose the latter. But how can they choose the latter when it turned itself into a party of corrupt and thieves?- The Candidates