By PETER SICHALI
REGIONAL voting that was witnessed in the 2016 general elections should be avoided at all costs so that leaders are voted into office on merit, veteran politician Sikota Wina has said.
Mr Wina said the nation was founded on the principle of One Zambia, One Nation and therefore no politician should be allowed to divide the nation on tribal or regional lines.
He said leaders should not earn votes from electorate based on ethnicity because development could be hampered when wrong leaders were ushered into office.
“The regional voting that we witnessed in 2016 should not be allowed to repeat itself because it has potential to divide the nation and deter national development,” Mr Wina said.
Mr Wina said as the country goes for general elections this year, Zambians should vote for their leaders on merit and not on tribal grouping.
He said Zambians should vote for leaders based on their party manifestos without looking at the region they came from as long as they were Zambians.
“It would have been very difficult for this country to attain real Independence with the kind of tribalism and regionalism we are witnessing today,” Mr Sikota said.
He said politicians should work toward developing Zambia as a united force.
Mr Wina said it would be difficult for the country to achieve economic development with tribalism at the core.
