By Patson Chilemba
Sherry Thole who recently gave up the position of vice-president in the Mutati led NDC, says the UPND views itself to be more equal than the other alliance partners despite the fact that they wouldn’t have gotten the votes they obtained in 2021 without partners.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Those said she told MDC leader and Science and Technology minister Felix Mutati that she was leaving the vice-presidency to take a back seat.
But asked on how she viewed the future of the MDC, Thole said: “You know it’s in an alliance. So the thing is when you are in an alliance you are supposed to be equal partners, but what I see is I don’t know, some are more equal than others, having the UPND as a main party and then the others are supporters as it were. So it’s something that I think going forward, it was knew to Zambia, so I think it was a learning curve.”
But asked how she looked at Mutati’s continued service as minister of science and Technology in the grouping she said had people who viewed themselves to be more equal than others, Thole said Mutati got a position which she felt was okay, but wondered where the rest of the people are beyond his appointment.
“How many of the MDC grassroots campaigners as it where, you know the ones that were in the field, the ones where you pick to appoint DCs, the lower levels. Where are they? So that’s the question that I think we still haven’t found the correct answers to,” she said.
But asked if Mutati has been speaking on behalf of his members since he is their leader and is in government, Thole said Mutati has been asked if he was engaging with President Hichilema to talk about MDC participation at different levels and assured them that he was.
She said some people were of the view that at some point, Mutati needed to give up the ministerial position and organize the party.
“But what are the terms and conditions? Remember the issue here is that the candidates were UPND, they had to take the UPND brand. So where does MDC exist? So it’s just helping to participate and campaign and take part in the elections?” Thole asked, describing the same as a difficult thing.
But told that the UPND will argue that they are the biggest party and were already established when the others were joining in and therefore owned the right to call the shots, Thole said this was something they all accepted.
“But remember also that the alliance partners came in to the extent where certain regions that would be managed by the alliance partners. For example like Western Province went to both UPND and Honourable Milupi’s party. Ours as MDC was Northern, Muchinga sort of like Copperbelt. I think KBF with his movement also came in. Everyone was picking areas where they thought they could make a difference, where they felt they were strong and they could make a difference,” Thole said.
Asked if she was saying that the UPND could not have gotten the numbers they got in some of the provinces were it not for the participation of alliance partners, Thole said: “I should think so, because if you look, to back up that argument you need to look at the figures that came in from the Electoral Commission. For example how many people voted in Northern Province and voted for President HH or voted for a different candidate? How many voted in the Copperbelt? So there was this swaying of votes. So I think that it would be difficult to say that they could have won easily without the alliance but I think that the alliance bolstered the numbers and made it possible for them. Remember there is a one million difference? So that one million difference, everybody must know that everybody put in their hard work depending on wherever they were.”
