By Mubanga Mubanga
Governance expert Gift Nyambe says a democratic country is measured by the quality of democratic institutions not by the number of candidates standing in an election.
And Nyambe urged Zambians to demand from politicians to reveal their funders.
More than 25 candidates have made serious indications to stand as presidential candidates in the August 13 general elections.
In an interview, Nyambe said whilst a growing number of candidates enriched democracy, it did not mean the country was democratic.
She stressed that a proper democracy needed to have fairness of the electoral process, political tolerance and informed participation by citizens.
“Furthermore, the strength of a democracy is fundamentally rooted in providing citizens with a range of choices as this provides voters with different manifestos to choose from. In this sense, the growing number of candidates can enrich public debate and encourage greater civic engagement among citizens,” Nyambe said.
“However, the issue must also be examined critically. A proper democracy is not measured simply by the number of people contesting elections. Rather, it is measured by the quality of democratic institutions, the fairness of the electoral process, respect for the rule of law, political tolerance, and informed participation by citizens.”
Nyambe said the increased participation of political parties reflected fragmentation rather than democratic maturity. She added that the increase was likely going to split votes.
“Some political parties are formed around personalities instead of clear ideologies or policy positions,” Nyambe said
“Internal conflicts within major parties, personal ambitions, and dissatisfaction with existing political structures may also contribute to the rise in candidacies. As a result, opposition votes may be split while voters struggle to distinguish meaningful policy differences among candidates.”
Further, Nyambe said there was a possibility that a growing number of candidates was going to create administrative and financial challenges for the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
“Public debates and media coverage may become less effective due to limited time available for each candidate to meaningfully communicate their agenda. In some instances, certain candidates may participate mainly for political visibility, or future bargaining opportunities rather than genuine intentions to govern,” Nyambe said.
Nyambe called on the Zambian people to ask the presidential aspirants to reveal their funders. She said the country needed to have transparency and accountability in political financing.
However, Nyambe said despite the shortcomings of too many presidential candidates, political participation needed to be encouraged. She said restricting the number of candidates to reduce competition was going to undermine democratic principles.
