By Isaac Zulu
Political scientist Dr Alex Ng’oma has counselled all political players that will be taking part in the forthcoming Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections to apply themselves with civility.
And Dr Ng’oma has encouraged political parties that are “perceived to be small in the country” to continue participating in by-elections because this a their democratic right, which he said “also provides an opportunity for them to test their popularity.”
Speaking in an interview, Dr Ng’oma noted that there is tendency by politicians to pretend to be engaging in politics devoid of civil, but this picture changes during campaign trails.
“As we head to run up to the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections, we expect all political players that will be taking part in the two parliamentary by-elections on the Copperbelt to not only talk the talk, but walk the talk,” explained Dr Ng’oma. “We have noticed with concern that when politicians in this country are away from the campaign trail, they tend and pretend to be engaging in politics with civility, saying one thing when they are not in campaign mode. But when they are in a political campaign period, they engage in politics of insults, hooliganism and so forth. Which is very, very unfortunate. This is a civilised country and we expect these political players that will be taking part in the said parliamentary by-elections on the Copperbelt to apply some civility during their campaigns.”
Asked if it is necessary for political parties that are “perceived to be small in the country” to participate in by-elections, as opposed to concentrating on mobilising their respective political organisations, Dr Ng’oma encouraged the said political parties to continue participating in by-elections in order to assess their popularity on the political scene.
He stressed that it is a democratic right for any political organisation to participate in any election, be it general or by-election.
“For those small political parties that are taking part in the forthcoming Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections, even if they know that they will not scoop those parliamentary seats, I think it is important that they take part. After all, it is within their democratic right Constitutional right,” said Dr Ng’oma. “And this gives these political parties a chance to interact with the voters, test their popularity and devise future political strategies.”
