By Daily Revelation Editor
The Kasama mayoral by-election has come and gone. And as is now common knowledge the election went in favour of the ruling UPND, and they deserve their celebrations as the mayoral victory in an area that has been known for ages to be an opposition stronghold is no mean achievement.
The UPND learnt from their own mistakes in the Chawama by-election which they lost, organised themselves and went into Kasama and delivered the victory for themselves.
However, for those in the PF, or Tonse Alliance, they repeated the same mistakes that almost caused them to score an own goal in the Chawama by-election. This time, their own chaos and infighting contributed towards their loss in the Kasama mayoral elections.
For those who may have forgotten, the chaos being referred to first reared its ugly head in Chawama when elements in the PF, working with Tonse leaders expelled the Given Lubinda led PF from the alliance. They did so in the midst of the campaigns which were being spearheaded by Lubinda, together with Chishimba Kambwili, Miles Sampa and Celestin Mukandila for Tonse/FDD’s candidate Bright Nundwe.
They must be very thankful that their chaos then did not result in the loss in Chawama, as somehow they managed to pull off a win in that by-election.
Straight on from that election, they now exported their chaos to Kasama, which became a new battle ground for egos in the PF/Tonse Alliance. From what we could read, the election was mostly about proving which faction was popular enough to deliver victory. In this case, arguments about who was more popular took precedence, as opposed to the interest of winning the seat back that had been previously held by the PF through their late mayor.
We heard threats for instance directed at Lubinda and some of his officials against travelling to Kasama for the campaigns. The threats actually reminded us of the era of political violence Zambians lived through during the PF administration, which contributed heavily towards their trouncing at the hands of the UPND in the 2021 general elections. We would have thought that they had engaged into deeper reflection to change course and conduct their politics as a reformed bunch following that loss. Alas, it is sad to note that the defeat seems not to have altered the manner of their operations. Are these the people Zambians can entrust with power again? Definitely not.
Zambians must definitely place a high premium on the people aspiring to lead them. They all must earn the people’s trust and votes, both the ruling UPND, the PF/Tonse and all the other political parties. Those in the opposition should not just be allowed to demand change. They should show the change themselves in the manner they conduct themselves and the workability of their pomises to Zambians.
For instance, one would question what public interest those who in the midst of the campaigns left Kasama in order to participate in the elections for the Tonse leadership. One would ask if they were pursuing their organisational, party or public interests, or just their own interests to get elected in some Tonse positions.
And today the same people who have throughout exhibited chaos, can rise up after losing the elections in Kasama and claim that it was stolen by the ruling UPND. No! The election was not stolen. They should just admit that the UPND won because they were more organised, while they swam in their own chaos. And with the same chaos persisting, and opposition disunity continuing, the UPND is likely to have an easy ride towards the August 2026 win in the general elections.
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By Daily Revelation Editor
The Kasama mayoral by-election has come and gone. And as is now common knowledge the election went in favour of the ruling UPND, and they deserve their celebrations as the mayoral victory in an area that has been known for ages to be an opposition stronghold is no mean achievement.
The UPND learnt from their own mistakes in the Chawama by-election which they lost, organised themselves and went into Kasama and delivered the victory for themselves.
However, for those in the PF, or Tonse Alliance, they repeated the same mistakes that almost caused them to score an own goal in the Chawama by-election. This time, their own chaos and infighting contributed towards their loss in the Kasama mayoral elections.
For those who may have forgotten, the chaos being referred to first reared its ugly head in Chawama when elements in the PF, working with Tonse leaders expelled the Given Lubinda led PF from the alliance. They did so in the midst of the campaigns which were being spearheaded by Lubinda, together with Chishimba Kambwili, Miles Sampa and Celestin Mukandila for Tonse/FDD’s candidate Bright Nundwe.
They must be very thankful that their chaos then did not result in the loss in Chawama, as somehow they managed to pull off a win in that by-election.
Straight on from that election, they now exported their chaos to Kasama, which became a new battle ground for egos in the PF/Tonse Alliance. From what we could read, the election was mostly about proving which faction was popular enough to deliver victory. In this case, arguments about who was more popular took precedence, as opposed to the interest of winning the seat back that had been previously held by the PF through their late mayor.
We heard threats for instance directed at Lubinda and some of his officials against travelling to Kasama for the campaigns. The threats actually reminded us of the era of political violence Zambians lived through during the PF administration, which contributed heavily towards their trouncing at the hands of the UPND in the 2021 general elections. We would have thought that they had engaged into deeper reflection to change course and conduct their politics as a reformed bunch following that loss. Alas, it is sad to note that the defeat seems not to have altered the manner of their operations. Are these the people Zambians can entrust with power again? Definitely not.
Zambians must definitely place a high premium on the people aspiring to lead them. They all must earn the people’s trust and votes, both the ruling UPND, the PF/Tonse and all the other political parties. Those in the opposition should not just be allowed to demand change. They should show the change themselves in the manner they conduct themselves and the workability of their pomises to Zambians.
For instance, one would question what public interest those who in the midst of the campaigns left Kasama in order to participate in the elections for the Tonse leadership. One would ask if they were pursuing their organisational, party or public interests, or just their own interests to get elected in some Tonse positions.
And today the same people who have throughout exhibited chaos, can rise up after losing the elections in Kasama and claim that it was stolen by the ruling UPND. No! The election was not stolen. They should just admit that the UPND won because they were more organised, while they swam in their own chaos. And with the same chaos persisting, and opposition disunity continuing, the UPND is likely to have an easy ride towards the August 2026 win in the general elections.
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