By Patson Chilemba
Ruling PF member Colonel Panji Kaunda says Zambian institutions must learn from the firmness of the American institutions if President Edgar Lungu where to lose elections and refuse to concede, they should hold firm against those undemocratic tendencies.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Col Panji said the world had experienced the best and worst of the United States of America (USA) democracy, where on one hand the sitting President Donald Trump tried to incite a coup (insurrection) against the democratically elected President-elect Joe Biden, but the institutions held firm against him.
Col Panji said the process was conducted democratically in the Democratic Party where Biden defeated 19 other candidates to become the nominee to stand against Republican Trump in the election, saying those he (Biden) had defeated simply buried the hatchet and decided to back him up in the election.
He said Biden even ended up picking one of his harshest critics during the nomination battles in the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris as his running mate, who now Vice-President elect, and will be inaugurated together with him on January 20, 2021.
Col Panji said following the general elections battle between Trump and Biden, the former refused to concede alleging massive voter fraud in most Democratic controlled swing states which decided the elections.
He said Trump was given all the time to litigate his arguments in the courts of law, but he lost close to 60 cases, in courts presided mostly by the same people Trump appointed as judges.
Col Panji said as a last straw, Trump incited his supporters who overran the Congress chambers during the certification of Biden’s election victory, however that failed and Trump was impeached with some members of his own Republican Party participating in the move.
He said Zambia would be holding elections this year, saying should the same situation happen where a “rogue” President lost, the institutions of governance, most of them presidential appointees, should take a leaf from the USA to do the right thing.
“Trump refused to accept the results, becoming more like in African elections where the ruling party tries to do everything to hold on to power. He was allowed to go to the courts, including the Supreme Court where three of the nine judges were his own appointees. In fact six of the nine judges are conservative justices (Republican leaning), but they believe in the law,” Col Panji said. “This is where our courts must take an example from. You can have a rogue President but the institutions must hold firm.”
Col Panji said Zambia will be worse off if they allowed the PF another five years in office, and they must do everything to remove President Lungu and his government from office. He said once the people have done their bid, he expects the institutions of governance, particularly the courts to behave professionally in accordance with the law and people’s aspirations.