By Speedwell Mupuchi
THE so-called opinion polls making predictions about who will win are false and misleading, says Vernon Mwaanga.
Two alleged opinion polls have predicted that PF candidate Edgar Lungu will win the elections next month.
Today the Zambia Daily Mail quoted a poll by a consortium of Zambian thought leaders from various academic institutions indicating that President Lungu is highly likely to retain power with 60 per cent of the votes followed by UPND’s Hakainde Hichilema.
But former director general of intelligence says with three weeks to go before the tripartite elections on 12th August, it is premature to make such wild predictions.
“Even in the most developed countries, opinion polls have often been wrong. What more with Zambia, which has had no credible record of having opinion polls? My uncertainty grows,” Mwaanga said. “I can only urge the people of Zambia to disregard and dismiss these polls. The 12th August is not too far and we shall soon find out how wrong they are.”
Mwaanga, who served as information minister in the MMD governments, said the expertise required to conduct credible election polls was not yet available in Zambia.
“That is why a number of countries have banned opinion polls, so as not to confuse the voters. A lot can happen between now and 12th August, 2021,” Mwaanga said.