UPND wins 4 out of 5 ward bye-elections
Some top 5 critical questions
1. Is the ruling United Party for National Development UPND and it’s candidates still very popular despite the complaints on cost of living, ‘no money’ in circulation etc. Are these complaints only social media noise and not reflective on the ground? Congratulations to UPND are in order for winning 4 out of 5 bye elections.
2. Why are there no independent NGOs or election monitors willing sign off as witnesses on the final results? Seeing only ZANIS and Times of Zambia (both govt institutions) and UPND reps sign off reflects some desperation for authentication of results. ECZ should consider including voter turn out and other key statistics for the public to make informed decisions on these outcomes.
3. Congratulations to opposition UPPZ, perhaps it also shows that social media views are not reflective of what is on the ground as Kanchibiya seems to have been an excellent example of the best usage increased CDF, a situation that should have advantage the ruling UPND?
4. Socialist Party – SP needs to introspect on their electoral performance and the effectiveness of their on the ground campaign machinery, with main opposition Patriotic Front – PF effectively not participating, this was their opportunity to show that they can challenge and win some seats against the ruling UPND.
5. Main opposition Patriotic Front – PF needs to quickly re-organise and find ways to participate and compete in these bye-elections. Remember that UNIP got wiped out after boycotting participating in the general elections and never recovered.
Moreover, history shows that ruling parties in Zambia including the former ruling party PF itself destroyed their main opposition to secure their second term.
UNIP destroyed their main opposition ANC, MMD destroyed their main opposition UNIP, PF destroyed their main opposition MMD, and now UPND is attempting to destroy their main opposition PF. Will 2026 be any different, will the Judiciary recuse themselves this time around and allow voters to decide? Only time will tell…
Dear ZBT reader, what is your take on these ward bye-elections results?