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By BARNABAS ZULU
NATIONAL Democratic Congress (NDC) leader, Saboi Imboela has claimed that the defeat of United States Vice president, Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections is a setback for the United Party for National Development (UPND) because of the party’s support for Harris and the Democratic Party.
In the recent elections, Ms. Harris and her running mate, President Joe Biden, were defeated by former President Donald Trump, who was re-elected as the 47th President of the United States.
Mr. Trump won in a landslide, securing almost three-quarters of the U.S. states.
He became only the second president in U.S. history to reclaim the presidency after a previous loss, following Grover Cleveland.
However, Ms. Imboela believes that the loss is more than just a defeat for the Democrats—it is a blow to the UPND, which she claims has aligned itself with Harris and the Democratic Party’s ideals.
According to her, the UPND’s support for the Democrats has put them in a difficult position following Harris’s loss.
“The defeat of Ms. Harris is a defeat for the UPND because the party supported her and the Democrats. The Democrats and the UPND share similar ideals, and this loss reflects badly on them,” Ms. Imboela said.
Ms. Harris had recently visited Zambia as part of her tour of African states, where her foreign policies seemed to align with those of the UPND.
Ms. Imboela pointed out that many of the Democrats’ policies, especially around LGBTQ rights, have raised concerns within Zambia, where traditional values prevail.
“The impact is that the Democrats have been pushing the LGBTQ agenda,” Ms Imboela explained. “They wanted to push their lifestyle on Zambians without considering that we have different cultures. Cultural relativism should be respected. We can accept polygamy easier, but not LGBTQ.”
Ms Imboela also made a pointed contrast between the Democratic and Republican administrations, asserting that Zambian values align more closely with Mr Trump’s approach.
“The Trump administration believes so much in what Zambians also believe in,” she continued. “Zambian values relate more with the Trump administration than with the Democrats.”
Additionally, Ms. Imboela spoke about what she described as a global trend where many presidents, including in Africa, are being limited to one-term in office. She expressed hope that Zambia could follow suit in future elections, referencing countries like Botswana, where former President Mokgweetsi Masisi served only one term.
“This one-term phenomenon has really come and we are wishing it upon Zambia,” Ms Imboela said. “Though it’s sad that America has not had a female president from the time they got independence. Long ago, it used to be said that it was hard for you to be president when you are a black person or a person of color. They had one black person as a president but not a woman. This shows you that they have not done well in terms of gender equality.”
