By Revelation Editor
The political temperature arising from the campaigns and elections of August 13, 2026 is too high in the country right now. And the same seems to be heightening by the day.
Amid jubilations by the winners of the 2026 elections, who view the victory as an affirmation of President Hakainde Hichilema’s time in power in the last five years, the other significant portion of the country is mourning and angry. They are feeling aggrieved at what they view as a ‘fraudulent’ election which was handed in favour of the President and the ruling UPND by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the security agencies.
From that election has emerged assertions of there being a ‘militia’ by the President and state agencies, with the President equivocally stating that he wanted to see those he accuses of being ‘militia’ members punished, and that he had actually thrown mercy over the window. Treason and other charges have since been dished out against those he accuses of being ‘militias’. But those he accuses of being ‘militias’, chiefly opposition leader Brian Mundubile and team have countered that the ‘so-called’ militia is a figment of President Hichilema’s own imagination. They are saying it is something he has hatched in order to shift attention from the ‘extra-judicial’ killing of ex-minister Mutotwe Kafwaya, and also to make the opposition ineffective in terms of challenging what they view as a ‘fraudulent election’. They also argue that he is trying to stop them especially on the mobilisation effect they may have on Zambians, particularly in urban centres, which showed a tilt towards the opposition as compared to the 2021 general elections.
In the markets, and communities there are silent enmities purely based on the political parties some support or supported in the elections. Worryingly, some are even beginning to attach one’s political alignment based on their tribe. While all this is happening, the idea of elections being a competition for ideas to serve the people better is being lost. These worrying signs that are begining to appear require urgent attention to be nipped in the bud because they may grow to levels where they will begin to threaten the much cherished unity that has held this nation for long.
The signs that are appearing need leadership in the country. They need the Church and the elders, and indeed chiefs, and mature heads in the political and civil space. However, the political polarisation seems so deep that it has also claimed most of those in the Church, civil space and indeed elder states people into political alignment. There is urgent need to lower the political temperatures, but it will take level heads in every sphere of Zambia’s life to achieve that.
We are now arguably defining ourselves as a country whose voting is becoming more polarized based on the regional relations or alliances. If we maintain this path, elections will now be determined by which regions turn out the most in the elections, as opposed to the policies and programmes being advanced by the contestants to better the living standards of all Zambians.
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