Polls or Propaganda? A Challenge To Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

By Dr Mwelwa

Let us speak calmly and intelligently. What we witnessed on EMV is not a scientific poll. It is a controlled digital environment dressed as public opinion.

Online impressions are not votes. Phone-ins are not sampling. Facebook comments are not statistical data. Political science is very clear: a credible poll must be randomised, verifiable, geographically representative, and independently administered. Anything else is mobilisation theatre.

When one individual controls the broadcast platform, the comment moderation, the phone lines, the narrative framing, and multiple affiliated pages amplifying the same outcome, objectivity becomes impossible. It becomes performance.

Planting callers, circulating unpublished phone numbers to preferred camps, and leveraging admin control across linked platforms creates what communication scholars call “manufactured consensus.” It gives the illusion of momentum while filtering dissent.

If Ambassador Mwamba truly believes in transparency, then let us elevate the standard.

I humbly invite him to jointly design a web-based, independently audited opinion poll. Both of us can serve as co-administrators. Each presidential candidate should nominate one digital poll agent with full backend access. The methodology should be published in advance. The voting logs should be auditable. The IP restrictions should be visible. The process should be broadcast live on local TV and radio.

That is how serious democracies measure sentiment.

Makebi Zulu must be cautious not to let flattery inflate strategy. Popularity engineered inside a sympathetic echo chamber is not national electability. Ego is a poor campaign manager.

And let it be clear: this is not about defending one candidate or attacking another. It is about protecting Zambians from psychological manipulation disguised as participation.

A real poll invites scrutiny. A fake poll avoids it.

Ambassador Mwamba, if the numbers are genuine, you should have no fear of shared administration and independent oversight.

Let us test popularity under sunlight, not under stage lighting.