Actions by running-mates to ditch their presidential tickets!

By Revelation Editor

The country has in the last two weeks experienced a situation where presidential running-mates have ditched their presidential candidates.

The same started with Andyford Banda who ditched his presidential mate Dr Brian Mushimba of the Organised People’s Party (OPP). Banda gave his own reasons for abandoning the presidential campaign, over aspects the partners could not agree on, including issues of resource allocation.

And just as the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) were clarifying that the action by Banda could not affect the presidential running of Dr Mushimba, we saw another running-mate defection. This time around, Moses Mawere of the Exodus Party ditched the presidential campaign of Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba.

And drawing on the clarification from the ECZ and the constitution, Kalaba said he was continuing with his presidential campaign as the action by Mawere had no effect whatsoever on his aspirations.

However, despite the bold faces both Kalaba and Mushimba may put up, we know that deep down they are definitely hurt for the fact that they are human beings first, and secondly because they are seeking political office. No credible candidate would want to be ditched by their own running-mate in the middle of the campaigns as that in itself has the effect of sending negative vibes about the viability of that campaign. 

But the humanity of those who decide to ditch others also in the middle of a campaign must seriously be questioned. Even if they may have their own political choices like in the case of Mawere for instance, who feels that NRPUP leader Brian Mundubile stands a better chance of unseating President Hakainde Hichilema from office, didn’t he consider all these permutations before he accepted to run as Kalaba’s running-mate for instance? Did he count his own human and political costs, and the human and political cost the same would have on Kalaba before he made the decision? Do these same politicians think beyond their noses? 

Because for one to aspire to be a leader of a country, even as a running mate, there are certain basic tenets they must at least be expected to have, including strategic thinking and planning. If you have made a decision for instance to be a presidential candidate or even running-mate you must have calculated the costs prior. 

We really don’t know what differences Kalaba and Mawere had to have ‘violently’ divorced in such a manner. We are sure both could have their own explanations for the outcome, including Mushimba and Banda. But one may just question if really these politicians have even taken time to know each other sufficiently before entering into partnerships. Or did they maybe enter into the same out of sheer opportunism just because this was election time? If they are able to wise up, this should actually offer them harsh lessons for the future.

We know that especially during elections, people want to get into all sorts of pacts or alliances in order to increase their electoral chances. But the same should be done out of shared values and principles, with an understanding that come rain come sunshine the partnership will hold regardless the shifts in the political field.

Whatever the arguments, one thing is clear, and it’s that politics can indeed be a cruel game devoid of any sympathy or empathy, with the sole motivation of seeking out the best political outcomes for oneself at the expense of the others. Anyway, forget the issues of empathy and sympathy since they are mostly absent from politics as the recent examples have shown us, however, we shall watch with interest to see who will end up being proved right between Mawere and Kalaba, or indeed Mushimba and Banda.

However, one thing is clear that the next sitting of parliament will definitely need to address the lacuna that has been brought to the fore following the decisions by Mawere and Banda to ditch their presidential tickets. But the focus of any eventual amendments should just be to just address that lacuna and other meaningful ones identified, rather than using the same to bring in unwanted constitutional amendments that don’t even serve public interest.