STATEMENT TO UPND PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES ON PREMATURE CONCESSIONS
I wish to urge all UPND parliamentary candidates who have been reported or declared as having lost their respective contests to exercise restraint before issuing statements conceding defeat. This is not about refusing to accept the democratic will of the people. Every genuinely expressed choice of the Zambian people must be respected
However, candidates must remember that they did not participate in this election solely in their individual capacities. They were adopted and sponsored by the party. Their candidature formed part of a national electoral effort involving the party, the UPND Alliance, election agents, monitors, lawyers, party structures and supporters across the country.
The UPND Alliance will certainly examine, at an appropriate time, the much wider picture of what transpired across the country during these elections.
There are reports and complaints from different areas which require careful examination. These include matters relating to the voting process, alleged electoral malpractice and other circumstances surrounding particular contests. Some matters may ultimately prove immaterial. Others may require further investigation or the invocation of remedies provided by law.
It is therefore premature for individual candidates to make pronouncements which could potentially prejudice a position that the party and the Alliance may subsequently be required to take.
Acknowledging that a returning officer has declared a particular result is one thing. Making an unconditional political concession before the wider electoral picture has been properly examined is another. I therefore urge our colleagues to remain calm.
Where you have been declared unsuccessful, acknowledge the official process respectfully, maintain peace among your supporters and preserve all relevant electoral records and evidence. There is no need to rush into broader declarations until the party and the Alliance have had an opportunity, at the appropriate time, to examine the circumstances surrounding these elections.
This is particularly important because an election is not examined constituency by constituency in complete isolation. Political parties look at patterns. They compare reports from polling stations, constituencies and provinces. They examine incidents reported by their agents and determine whether particular occurrences were isolated or formed part of something requiring a coordinated institutional response.
The correct approach at this stage is patience, discipline and respect for institutional processes. UPND candidates were sponsored by the party. Where questions have arisen concerning the integrity of particular parliamentary contests, the party and the UPND Alliance must be afforded an opportunity to examine the evidence and determine the appropriate course of action.
There will be time to congratulate opponents where results are accepted as conclusive. There will equally be lawful mechanisms for addressing any result which, upon examination of the evidence, warrants a challenge.
Zambia Forward, TOGETHER in UNITY. 🇿🇲
Saviour Chishimba
President
United Progressive People (UPP)
UPND Alliance Partner