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By GIDEON NYENDWA
GIVE the Patriotic Front (PF) back to its original owners because all efforts to destroy the former ruling party have proven futile because the party has remained in the hearts of its grassroots and has remained a political force to reckon with, says Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa.
Dr Sishuwa, an academician and Stellenbosch University senior lecturer says the recent Chawama parliamentary by-election, which saw the governing UPND suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the FDD, the special purpose vehicle for the PF and its alliance partners had proven that it was futile to try to annihilate and kill the former ruling party.
Dr Sishuwa said it was now clear that it had become a futile exercise to block the PF from participating in any election because their supporters knew who the true leaders were and that was why the former ruling party was winning each time it had fielded a candidate on any political party.
He said the Chawama and Petauke outcome had demonstrated that attempts to weaken and obliterate the PF through legal, administrative or political means have failed, as party members and supporters had continued to mobilise around leaders they recognise, even when candidates were forced to contest on alternative party tickets.
“Blocking the PF from fielding candidates does not work. The members will simply follow their leaders and support whoever they are told to support,” he said.
He argued that the by-election in Chawama had also exposed limits to vote-buying, stating that despite reports of heavy spending and distribution of food and gifts during the campaign, voters ultimately chose a candidate of their preference.
“Zambian voters are intelligent. They may accept gifts, but they still vote according to their conscience,” Dr. Sishuwa said.
Dr Sishuwa said Chawama had debunked claims that the opposition was dead, showing instead that it remains capable of winning elections even under constrained conditions.
He added that the PF’s vote share, when compared with previous elections, suggested loyalty to identifiable leaders rather than to party symbols alone.
Dr. Sishuwa also touched on broader governance issues, including political accountability, saying public figures should take responsibility when they made false claims.
He said apologising when proven wrong was a sign of responsibility, contrasting this with leaders who rise to power on a diet of lies, which he described as a more serious offence against democracy.
Dr. Sishuwa noted that the peaceful conduct of the Chawama by-election and the opposition victory weakened arguments that elections are routinely rigged.
He however cautioned against using a single by-election as proof that democracy is fully secure, urging a wider assessment of the political environment.
Dr. Sishuwa said the key lesson for those in power is to allow open competition. “Let the PF field candidates and defeat them fairly. Efforts to sideline them have only shown that such strategies are futile,” he said.
