Govt must loosen stranglehold on PF

By Daily Revelation Editor

We can safely say that the country is now firmly in the campaign season, with only 11 months now to go before the country holds the general elections of 2026.

The ruling party and those in the opposition are right now canvassing the country, while competition for adoptions is also hitting fever pitch.

However, while all this is happening, it’s very concerning and sad for democracy that the former ruling party, PF, is embroiled in internal factionalism, with the ruling party at the centre of it.

For democracy’s sake, we would have expected that the the matters that have been pending before the courts in the PF will have already been resolved by now to allow the rightful owners of the party the time to quickly re-organise and strategise their participation in elections and democracy. Alas, that has not happened. 

Any court outcome that will be rendered on the matter, if it is delivered late will merely be an academic exercise as there won’t be enough time to canvass the country for votes during the little timeframe. The former ruling party MMD can attest to this, where the court judgment that was delivered in favour of Pastor Nevers Mumba’s leadership in that party was delivered very late, wasting that party precious time and resources to effectively mobilise and traverse this country.

It is not right for democracy that such a huge number of members of parliament in PF are uncertain about their re-adoption or adoption on account of internal party dynamics that have been rendered favourably towards one faction by the government against the faction, which has an overwhelming majority following in the party.

For the sake of democracy to prevail, we urge the ruling UPND administration to remove the strangle hold they have placed on the former ruling party to allow it mobilise and compete for elections in this country. They can surely not claim to have properly tested their own popularity without facing up to the biggest opposition political party in the country.

We also urge the courts to open themselves to reason that they have a huge role to play in the democratic dispensation of this country. They cannot allow matters that have been brought before them to be gathering dust without attending to them when they know the urgency of the matters in question and their implication on the country’s democratic standing.

The fight the PF is fighting is not necessarily a PF fight. This is a fight against the very democracy the country has fought so hard to restore and maintain.