By OLIVER SAMBOKO
ZAMBIA is a beacon of peace and cornerstone of democracy which other countries on the continent should emulate in order to make Africa a peaceful place to live in, Zimbabwean opposition Movement For Democratic Change(MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa has said.
Mr Chamisa who was one of the foreign leaders that witnessed the inauguration of President Hakainde Hichilema, said Zimbabwe should look up to Zambia and take leaf on how the election and transition was handled.
He said in an interview that time for oppressive regimes in Africa was coming to an end and that he was happy that Mr Hichilema who he said they suffered the same predicament, has managed to win the presidency with a huge margin.
Mr Chamisa said Africa has for a long time suffered from undemocratic tendencies and unfair electoral systems that favour the ruling political parties.
He noted that now that Zambia has led the way, the continent will start moving towards achieving true democracy.
The Zimbabwean opposition leader said his party was optimistic that the democratic gains recorded in Zambia would spill over not only to Zimbabwe as a neighbour, but also to other countries in the SADC region and Africa as a whole.
“As member of SADC and the African continent, we Zimbabweans will be looking to Zambia to learn how they have managed to conduct smooth election and handing over of power from one government to another without any incident,” he said.
Mr Chamisa who runs the biggest opposition in that country also called on youths in his country, to emulate their Zambian colleagues by registration to vote for the 2023 general election.
Zimbabwe’s ruling party has already endorsed incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa as its sole presidential candidate for the 2023 polls.
Mr Mnangagwa’s candidature was approved at the party’s conference just after the 2018 disputed election that brought him to power following the fall of former late leader Robert Mugabe.
Mr Chimisa said the future of Zimbabwe was in the hands of youths and therefore they should ensure that they take part in the election to decide their future.
