THE RESULTS OF THIS ELECTION ARE NOT DIFFICULT TO TELL
The Candidates’ Comment Afternoon
With a few days before the eventual casting of votes takes place, many honest analytical people can tell the outcome. Zambians have no better option, among the top contenders in these elections.
It is not a secret that the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has become undesirable to the people of Zambia. A party that won power on account of being pro-poor has become a corrupt and thugerous get-together of all sorts of crooks.
Many elements in PF are filthy rich but without any businesses or economic activities to point at, to substantiate their wealth. Most – if not all- they have is a sum accumulation of corruption, tenderpreneurship and plunder of taxpayers money through a systematic way embedded under their robust infrastructure development agenda. Most of the monies cited to have been put into infrastructure development in Zambia has ended up in the pockets of crooks in the ruling. By extension, those monies have also gone into the pockets of associates of these elements and their cadres. That is why, a cadre of the ruling PF is very rich today. You may have spent many years studying but you remain a nobody compared to a PF cadre. You may be working in the private or public sector but whatever small change you collect at the end of the month as a salary is nothing compared to the kind of money which the cadres of the ruling party plays with.This country has become a society where the status of a cadre is now equivalent to that of a minister. Given the kind of luxurious lifestyles which PF cadres live, it is now fashionable to be identified as a cadre than any other profession there is. Even when you want to marry, you are respected more if the family you want to marry from learns that you are a cadre of the PF. This is the extent to which cadres in Zambia have gained influence and respect because of the riches they have accumulated from the corruption in the PF administration.
Amidst plenty for these crooks, these jackals, there is hunger and poverty in Zambia. Many people are struggling to make ends meet. It doesn’t matter whether or not you work. Whatever small money that you get paid is being swallowed by the high cost of living. To PF and its supporters, there is no hunger in Zambia and everyone must celebrate whatever things they have built across the country regardless of how questionable the cost is. As such, Zambians are fed up with PF.
On another hand, the main opposition party, the United Party for National Development (UPND) remains an untrusted grouping which appears more of a regionalised party than anything else. This party has struggled to clean itself from a tribal tag and often than not, exhibits high levels of regionalised politics. When you look at UPND very well, it remains a regional party despite it’s cosmetic attempts of renting certain elements from other regions to paint an impression that they have a national character. But regardless of their efforts to rent individuals of certain tribes, their true character is written all over their actions. If you want to know someone, pay less attention to what they say they are but more to their behavior. Look at the adoptions of the UPND in Lusaka. Over 95% of their adopted candidates on all layers of leadership come from one region. Look at their adoption in Central province! Majority of those adopted come from the same region as those adopted in Lusaka. This tells you how regionalised these elements are. If they can be this regionalised in adoptions, what guarantee do Zambians have that if voted for they will not import this tribalism in governance? Further, UPND has some of the most intolerant supporters and members who only believe in their personal feelings and demons. You are not seen as a human being if you hold a different view from these elements.
We dare say- and we know that many honest people agree with us that – regionalism of UPND is as evil as the corruption of PF. Many people detest PF at the moment but many of those that do so are skeptical to trust the UPND. People are saying we know that things are bad under PF but we can’t make a mistake to vote for a tribal party.
It is so much on this basis that one must not fail to see the outcome of these elections which we believe will spill over to a rerun. None between PF and UPND controls the majority of voters to warrant an outright win in the first round. We also know that other parties are too insignificant to amass votes that can change anything for them.
The voting pattern in this election has gone back to its default where UPND will most likely win in Southern, Western, Northwestern and a larger part of Central provinces, as has always been the case. On the other hand, the PF will win in Eastern, Luapula, Northern and Muchinga provinces. While it remains unclear who will win in Copperbelt and Lusaka, whoever gets these two provinces must win with more than 90% for it to make sense in the first round.