UPND needs major surgery, says Edward Mumbi

Sat, 04 Feb 2017 12:14:48 +0000

THE UPND will never win an election unless the party undergoes a major surgery and delivers itself from the tribal grouping at the top by realising that other tribes are relevant to its national character, Edward Mumbi has charged.

And Mr. Mumbi has noted that the opposition in Zambia stood no chance of winning the 2021 general elections if President Edgar Lungu would stand because of the overwhelming support he commanded across the country compared to any of the opposition party leaders.

Mr. Mumbi, who is former UPND presidential spokesperson, said the dwindling fortunes of the UPND were attributed to the tribal clique that had held the party hostage.

He said the failure by the UPND to embrace people from other regions who would have canvassed for support from all parts of the country was responsible for the party’s electoral failures, adding that if the current status continued UPND would never form government.

“Unless UPND undergoes a very serious surgery and delivers itself from a very serious tribal grouping at the top, they will never win an election. Yes, they will make claims, which they are entitled to, but still will not manage to win an election until they start to recognise the importance of other tribes who made the party what it is today.

“The current leadership exhibition in UPND which is based on self-centredness and failure to recognise those in power does not inspire Zambians and turning a blind eye to the party’s failures which are destroying UPND and if Lungu stands in 2021, it is going to be difficult for the opposition to win,” Mr. Mumbi said.

He said the UPND needed to have a careful analysis of where they have been getting it wrong in elections since its inception if it was to make a remarkable turnaround that would make it an attractive national party with representation across the country.

“There is need for a careful analysis of what has been making the party fail to win successive elections. The UPND needs to embrace those who contributed to the party and also respect those in leadership.

‘‘There is no way people are going to respect them when they fail to respect and recognise President Lungu as Zambia’s leader,” he said.