DEAR EDITOR,
IT is not a secret anymore that if elections were to be held today, the ruling Patriotic Front would win comfortably but this is without threats, the threat to PF winning the 2021 election is voter apathy in their strongholds.
PF can’t afford to concentrate on recruitment of new members with resolving the voter apathy among their existing members. Take a look at the current electoral register, Northern Province alone cancels whatever outcome of the UPND’s stronghold if only 70 percent of the registered voters cast their ballot in Northern Province.
It is therefore imperative that the national mobilisation committee working together with the provincial committees hit the ground running in sensitising their members in northern as well as Eastern provinces on the need of voting, yes it is the responsibility of the electoral commis-sion to engage in election education but as a strategy, the PF has a bigger role to play in encouraging Zambians to exercise their civic duty of voting.
In Lusaka and the Copperbelt, the district mobilisation committees working with Current MPs and aspiring candidates can take care of edu-cating electorates on their responsibility to vote.
I have learnt with sadness that some PF supporters think PF has not done much to motivate them grow the numbers even after seeing un-precedented infrastructure development in the health, education and road sectors, this goes to show that voters want their expectations to be met. It is not an issue of PF not delivering but some expectations not met.
The PF should incorporate those that are working hard in turning UPND strongholds into fertile ground for its votes into the central commit-tee, I have in mind Kabinga Mpande in North-Western Province and Mwanamuke Iswina in Western. They should also have students affairs committee to mobilise the students populous in institutions of higher learning to be spearheaded by Chris Zimba at State House.
PF should also find innovative ways of sharing facts with the general public to counter the lies and propaganda being spread by the UPND, it is sometimes annoying to see even educated Zambians believing the lies not because they want to but because there is only one side of the story.
Why should lies that are spread through social media be dispelled through radio programme or press briefing? why not use the same chan-nels so that it addresses the same audience? Majority Zambians look to PF for progress and fair distribution of development and wealth not” baja benungu” we know how they treat people who are not their tribe, examples are many . I wish PF leadership God’s guidance and good health.
ENOCK KAPITOLO CHULU
Lusaka.
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