By KETRA KALUNGA
It is embarrassing for the PF to have suffered heavy defeat at the hands of the UPND in the Local Government by-elections soon after the ruling party increased the prices of fuel and having failed to deliver fertilizer on time, GEAR Executive Director, Macdonald Chipenzi has said.
Mr. Chipenzi said it was shocking that the PF had failed to win the elections because they could have capitalized on the increase in fuel prices and failure by the ruling party to deliver fertilizer to electorates.
He said in an interview that the elections which the UPND have won by 92 percent of the seats held should have been a walk over for the PF because the ruling party had just increase fuel 4 days before the elections and had not delivered fertilizer to the people even with the onset of the rains.
Mr. Chipenzi said the loss should have been avoided because there was no ruling party that could increase fuel 4 days before an election and win election by 92 percent of the seats held
“This election to me it was a walk over if the PF were organized because the ruling government has just increase fuel, there is no fertilizer and you are in the rainy season, the opposition would have taken these two issue proper to the electorates and would have won,” Mr Chipenzi said
Mr. Chipenzi said the opposition political parties had a lot of work to do if the ruling party that had increased fuel and failed delivered fertilizer to the people was allowed to win the election by 92 percent of the seats held.
And Mr. Chipenzi has said stories being peddled against him by the PF that GEARS was the mastermind of the rigging of the results of the by-elections should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. He has instead advised the PF not to dent the names of innocent people when they lose an election but should ensure that they have a leadership in place to provide strategic direction for the party. “I have been advising the PF that are good at propaganda that you can only win elections when you have a leader, you cannot have an acting secretary general, acting vice president and acting president and you want to win elections, how?” he said.
Mr. Chipenzi said Zambian people when voting look at who is going to lead them but as things stand, the PF don’t have a leader to sale and this was disadvantage the performance of the party in the elections.
