By NATION REPORTER
The fear of defeat at the hands of Bowman Lusambo and Joseph Malanji of the Patriotic Front (PF) and the desire to increase numbers in Parliament for purposes of amending the Constitution to entrench themselves in power forced the UPND and President Hakainde Hichilema to manipulate the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Judicial process, Sishuwa Sishuwa has observed.
Dr Sishuwa has said after coming to power via a democratic election, President Hichilema and the ruling UPND have manipulated the ECZ and the judicial process to exclude key opposition candidates from the by-elections that took place yesterday.
Dr Sishuwa stated that at the heart of manoeuvres by the UPND to exclude Mr Lusambo and Mr Malanji from re-contesting their seats was not only the fear of defeat at the hands of the PF but also the desire to increase their number of MPs in parliament for the purpose of amending the constitution to entrench themselves in power.
In his facebook posting captioned: “A false dawn? Be worried, Zambia” Dr Sishuwa said to give some guise of legitimacy to the by-elections in Kabushi and Kwacha constituencies, the UPND had allowed weaker rival candidates to remain on the ballots.
Dr Sishuwa stated that in so doing, the UPND had strategically rigged and won the elections even before the first ballot was cast, noting that this form of rigging was called electoral exclusion.
He warned that by employing a desperate and dangerous strategy to win elections, the ruling party was effectively fermenting civil strife and even civil war which were the usual outcomes of similar experiences elsewhere in Africa. “After coming to power via a democratic election, President Hakainde Hichilema and the ruling UPND have manipulated the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the judicial process to exclude key opposition candidates from the ballots. At the heart of these manoeuvres is the fear of defeat to the excluded candidates and the desire to increase their number of MPs in parliament for the purpose of amending the constitution to entrench themselves in power.
Dr Sishuwa statd that if President Hichilema and the UPND were prepared to go to such lengths to merely win a parliamentary by-election, what would stop the governing party from rigging a presidential election?
He said having been in the doldrums of opposition politics for over two decades, the UPND was sending a clear message that they would go to any length, including manipulating the rules and norms of a democratic political game of illegitimately banning rival candidates, and abusing incumbency advantage only to secure electoral victory and retain power.” “Be worried, Zambia. Our democracy is still under attack, but now by President Hichilema, the man who vowed to rescue it when he was in opposition. If we are to improve the quality of our governance, we must remain engaged in the democratic process in between elections, as opposed to waiting for election day to rescue the country from the abyss.
Without the consequences of criticism from many of the voices from academia, civil society and the church who spoke truth to power under the previous regime, the new dawn leadership might turn out to be a tragedy for both our democracy and the country, Dr Sishuwa said.
