PF May Start Calling For The Extension Of Voter Registration Period

The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) need the vote from Luapula and Northern Province to neutralize the UPND vote in Southern Province. For many years, Luapula and Northern Province have been the main determinant of presidential elections in Zambia. Will it be the same with the 2021 general election?

If the opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema continues educating the voters like the way he is doing now, Southern Province may determine the next president in 2021.

Hakainde Hichilema draws very large crowds in Southern Province whenever he conducts rallies, but it has never helped him win an election.

The record shows that the province is one of the provinces with the lowest rate of voter turnout in the country.

In 2016 general elections, Hakainde Hichilema lost by about 13, 000 votes to President Edgar Lungu. Had every eligible voter vote in Southern Province in that election, that would have been cut into half.

This time around Hichilema has a different approach. He has realized that it is not the number of people who attend rallies that matters but the number of people who turnout on the election day.

He spends more time educating people on the importance of their vote. He encourages supporters to register to vote. People seem to resonate well with his message.

For example, in Monze, Southern province, it is reported that people are registering to vote in numbers and the process is going very well.

Quoted from Lusaka Times, “Speaking when he featured on a Live call-in Radio Program on Chikuni Community Radio, Mr. Samakong’a who is the District Registration Officer said the district (Monze) was doing exceptionally well with the registration process since it commenced.”

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) may not reach the 9 million voter registration target.

The general public is calling for the extension of the voter registration period but ECZ keeps ignoring it. If bothered with being accused of favoritism, it would be wise for ECZ to listen to people now than later when the Patriotic Front (PF) gets involved.

The PF may start calling for registration period extension soon due to the reported slow voter registration process in Luapula and Northern province. It will be very difficult for ECZ to ignore the call if it will come from the President.

PF need a lot of votes from both provinces to neutralize the UPND vote in Southern Province.

Although the UPND has lost several bye elections in both provinces previously, it has managed to improve popularity in both regions. It can now manage to win wards in these provinces. For example, Ilambo Ward in Lupososhi Constituency in Luwingu District in Northern Province is under UPND.

That is enough to eat away the remaining half of 13,000 votes UPND lost in the 2016 general election. A reason the PF must do something. It is a matter of time. They will start demanding to extend the period. They will and it will leave the ECZ in a dilemma. Listen to the PF call or ignore like the general public is being ignored.

This article originally appeared on Lusaka Times