By Patson Chilemba
Opposition alliance chairperson Charles Milupi has revealed cracks in the alliance, saying they are having difficulties agreeing on the electoral pact due to the insistence by some members that “if you want to work with me, you must work under me.”
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Milupi said the resounding loses in the Lukashya and Mwansabombwe by-elections had clearly shown that it was absolutely necessary now for the opposition to concretise their alliance, as well as bringing on board other participants.
Milupi said no opposition party could win elections on their own, hence the need to put aside self in order to find common ground.
“Absolutely, absolutely (it’s a definite that the alliance needs to work), I have stated clearly in the past that there is no single party that will win the elections in 2021, much more so in the opposition, no singe party to win,” Milupi said. “To win we shall need to create a momentum that is created by uniting the country. And for that it needs strengthening the alliance so that more people come in, but also it means that we must come up with a message that resonates with the rest of the population.”
However, Milupi revealed some of the challenges the alliance was facing.
“So far in trying to craft an electoral pact within the alliance we have had difficulties because parties have stuck on to try to show that they are the ones, people must now work under them. That is not going to work, that is not going to work,” Milupi said. “These election results show that it is not going to work. If we continue like this we reduce our chances in 2021. So we need people to really subordinate their interests, their personal interests, their party interests to the interest of the nation.”
On observations that much as the ruling party was engaging in corrupt practices during by-elections and it was almost a given that the same trend would continue into 2021, but they were still winning elections resoundingly in their strongholds as well as chipping into opposition strongholds at the same time, Milupi said the opposition has observed that too.
“Yes we have seen that they have won a number of by-elections at ward level in North Western Province, in Western Province we have seen that. We are seeing that. You see that gives us a message that we must do better as an alliance,” Milupi said. “But if we insist that no, if you want to work with me you must work under me then the chance of strengthening the alliance diminishes and therefore we are just giving these people more opportunity to continue to plunder and destroy the country.”
Milupi said there was a lot to learn from the recently held elections, from both the ruling party and the opposition parties, including the uneven playing field, where the Electoral Act was not followed as there was too much corruption from the PF, among many other vices.
“But be that as it may there is also a message for the opposition. It’s quite clear that some people are voting for the ruling party so there is something that we have to reflect upon on the delivery of the message. The country is not running well, there is corruption, there is poverty there is very high inflation such that goods are costing so much, the Kwacha has gone crazy and so forth,” Milupi said. “All these are negative things but even though we ourselves fully understand them and we fully explain them, the message that these things are caused by lack of political guidance from those in power is not reaching the people that it should reach. The poverty they are feeling it, whether you go to Lukashya or Mwansabombwe you feel the poverty…that’s why they run to the few bags that are distributed.”
Milupi highlighted the disconnect between tying the people’s sufferings to the failure by those in government to provide leadership, saying in western countries the performance of any government was judged upon what was happening in the population.
“If there is high unemployment for example the government of the day pays through losing elections. Now (here) the performance of government or lack of performance of the government does not seem to affect the way the people vote and this is sad for the country really because it means you can continue getting the same people, the same party,” Milupi said. “It’s the whole basis of democratic elections such that when you come to a crossroad like this the people reflect and they put in people who are expected to come and do better, and they know that if we don’t do better we shall be voted out. So that’s how the country improves.”
He said he was worried with the current situation in Zambia, where the voters were not tying their circumstances to those in power, but keep putting them back in power despite things going from bad to worse.
“It means instead of progressing the country is retrogressing. That’s the story not only for Zambia but many African countries, we are not progressing because those who are in power are not properly held to account,” said Milupi. “The action of holding government to account is the fear of being voted out. In Zambia as you have seen in these elections I cannot believe that the people in Lukashya or people in Mwansabombwe are faring better than the people in Chawama township, Kanyama, Chimwemwe.” –Daily Revelation