By Staff Reporter
Economic Front (EF) leader Wynter Kabimba says the party changed its name from Rainbow in order to move away from the perceived sexual orientation that goes with the name rainbow.
And Kabimba dismissed assertions that he is being bankrolled by Chinese businessmen, who are said not to feel accommodated in the new UPND era.
Kabimba also said there was nothing to celebrate from the Kabwata election results by both the UPND and the PF, as the election showed clear inadequacies involving the two leading parties.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Kabimba said the rebranding from Rainbow to EF was to disassociate the party from gay support attached with the name Rainbow.
He said the party did not want to be associated as being sympathetic and supportive of the LGBT sexual orientation, but as a party which embraced Christian values, saying that was what was being demanded by the membership.
Asked on information that he was being bankrolled by Chinese businessmen who were bankrolling the PF during their time in power, but are now said to feel left out by the new administration, Kabimba described the information as “common propaganda in politics”, saying he had never been to the Chinese Embassy nor met with any Chinese businessman to support his political ambitions.
On the outcome of the Kabwata parliamentary by-election, which saw the UPND win the seat after their candidate Andrew Tayengwa garnered 13,665 ahead of his closest PF competitor Clement Tembo’s 11,192, in a by-election that was characterised by voter apathy, Kabimba said it will be folly for both leading contenders to comfort themselves with that outcome.
“Firstly it will be folly for anybody in the UPND to celebrate the way they are celebrating on the basis that they are still popular and they are on the ground, after getting less than 50 percent of the vote they had in the August 2021 general election,” he said.
Kabimba said the message from the people was clear that they were beginning to punish the UPND for the lies churned out before and during the general elections, saying looking at the results exponentially there was no way the UPND would win the elections in Kabwata in five years time.
For the PF, Kabimba said their members were sending a message that they did not agree with the PF rebranding process, saying they could not celebrate “a 2000 margin loss”, over a seat that has been theirs since 2006.
He said they went into the election with a view of convincing their members that “we let you down, we cost you the election and we are taking responsibility and what we have done to give you hope is that we are in this process of rebranding.” Kabimba said they could not celebrate losing for the second time in six months a seat which used to be theirs for 20 years.
He said for the other opposition participants in the elections, the message from the people was that people were in need of a third force, which he said his party could fill in.
But asked why his party did not participate in elections, Kabimba said they participated in elections as Rainbow party, including the 2016 general elections, and would have done better had it not been for the divisions in he party.
He said in the 2021 general elections, the party now called EF did not participate as they had embarked on a rebranding process and backed the PF instead.
“The fact PF did not win doesn’t mean we didn’t participate,” said Kabimba, saying there was even an MoU signed with the PF.
He said the rebranding launch from Rainbow to EF will be in April 2021.
More @ www.dailyrevelationzambia.com
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