PeP STATEMENT No.58 ISSUED ON TUESDAY 3rd AUGUST 2021: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1. As Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) we are shocked with the impromptu decision by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to suspend all UPND campaigns in Kanyama Constituency on account of the recent violence in which two suspected PF cadres were killed by unknown people. Given that we are barely 9 days away from Election Day, this decision by ECZ effectively gives an undue upper-hand to the PF to win the Kanyama Parliamentary seat.
2. As Patriots for Economic Progress, our considered view is that there is no evidence on the basis on which ECZ should invoke such punitive action against UPND. Up to now, the police have not arrested a single suspect related to the brutal murder of the two alleged PF supporters. The only suspects that the police have arrested are the 42 who were apprehended in Kanyama area during a clean-up operation following the murders, and who were charged with possession of offensive weapons. Therefore, given that there are no suspects that have so far been arrested in relation to the murder of the two alleged PF supporters, it is wrong for ECZ to assume that as and when such suspects are arrested, they will belong to the UPND party. It is further wrong for ECZ to invoke drastic punitive action against the UPND on the basis of an assumption.
3. As Patriots for Economic Progress our expectation is that the only scenario in which ECZ can suspend the political campaigns for UPND while allowing those of PF to proceed in Kanyama is if the police have apprehended the suspects in the murder of the alleged PF supporters and those suspects are UPND members and there is evidence that the two murders were sanctioned by the UPND leadership. Otherwise a political party is a large grouping with very loose entry and exit barriers to membership. That means someone can be a UPND or PeP member in the morning and become a PF member in the afternoon. That means it is wrong for ECZ to seek to punish a political party for the alleged misdeeds of its alleged supporters, unless there is ample evidence that such misdeeds were explicitly sanctioned by the leadership of the political party in question.
4. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we wish to call upon the Electoral Commission of Zambia to immediately lift the suspension of UPND campaign activities in Kanyama Constituency because they lack evidence on which to premise such a drastic action. The overall effect of suspending UPND campaigns while allowing PF to continue with their campaigns in Kanyama is that ECZ is giving the Kanyama Parliamentary seat to the PF on a silver platter. Such an overreach by ECZ in an election as crucial as this one should not be accepted by any well-meaning Zambians. The PF and UPND should be allowed to compete on an equal footing in Kanyama without the effort by ECZ to tilt the scales.
5. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we have no doubt in our minds that the Electoral Commission of Zambia has acted in a biased manner by suspending campaign activities for UPND in Kanyama when the police are still investigating the murders of two alleged PF supporters and they have not yet apprehended any suspects for the murders. If the Commission insists on maintaining their arbitrary and unfounded decision, they risk further losing credibility as a neutral referee in this year’s general elections. Instead Zambians may perceive ECZ as an extension of the PF party. Such a portrayal will have dire consequences on the entire electoral process as most Zambians may find it difficult to accept the electoral outcome, should it be adverse to their expectation. The only way for ECZ to redeem itself is by revoking the suspension of UPND campaign activities in Kanyama, until such a time that they have solid evidence on which to premise their decision.
Thank You and May God Bless the Good Citizens of the Republic of Zambia and Our Ailing Nation.
YOURS SINCERELY
SEAN ENOCK TEMBO (SET)
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
PATRIOTS FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS (PeP)