( VJ weighs-in on the Comparisons made regarding US elections and Political Party alliances in Zambia)
TOO EARLY TO PREDICT WINNER OF 2026 ELECTION – VJ
Veteran politician Dr. Vernon J Mwaanga says it is too early for anyone to predict who will win the 2026 elections.
Referring to the recent elections in the USA, where Donald Trump emerged victorious, Dr. Mwaanga said there are false prophets who liken the US situation to Zambia in 2026.
He said that It is important to understand that the American Presidential elections are not based on popular votes, but on an electoral college system, where each of the fifty states plus in the union is allocated a certain number of electoral college votes.
Dr. Mwaanga explained that for a candidate to win in the US, they must obtain a minimum of 270 electoral college votes, which can sometimes lead to the winner having fewer popular votes than the loser.
He said that Zambia’s electoral system is different and should not be compared to the US system.
And addressing the issue of political alliances, Dr. Mwaanga said that alliances in Zambia are not new as they date back to pre-independence days.
“They are usually formed with a view to gaining access to power and sharing that power with other political parties, which have less than complimentary manifestos,” he explained.
Dr. Mwaanga gave the example of the UPND’s brief alliance with the PF, which was formed to unseat the MMD government.
However, he said that the UPND soon realized that the PF had selfish intentions and withdrew from the alliance.
“I remember the time when UPND had gone into some form of alliance with the PF, with a view of unseating the MMD government, it became clear sooner rather than later that PF wanted to use UPND for it’s own selfish ends, UPND which is a big party soon realized and withdrew from the alliance,” he said.
He added that recently, new alliances have been formed, but their lifespan cannot be accurately predicted due to struggles for control and the Republican Presidential candidacy.
Dr. Mwaanga said that these alliances are often fragile and may not last until the elections.
“As to who will win the Zambian Presidential elections in 2026, it’s still too early to make such a prediction,” he concluded.
Z.R