UPND Still On Track For General Election Victory - Chief Strategist

A political strategist for the United Party for National Development (UPND) has assured supporters that the party is still on track to win in this August’s general elections, despite recent setbacks at ward by-elections. 

In a post on the UPND’s social media accounts, Mainda Simataa - a strategist, researcher and aspiring councillor for Kamwala Ward 5 in Lusaka - documents how longstanding resentment for the PF government will ensure that Hakainde Hichilema’s party is successful at the polls this summer. 

In the post, Mr Simataa claims that “9 out of every 10 Zambians” feels hatred for the PF regime, which will explode at the ballot box on August 12. Low turnout at the recent by-elections shows that voters are saving their firepower for the general election, when they will turn out “all guns blazing”. 

The full post is as follows: 

CONCERNED PEOPLE ASK, ARE WE SAFE?
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By Mainda Simataa | Political Strategist
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Yesterday one lady WhatsApped me regarding the by-election performance and simply asked, “are we (UPND) safe?”
This short and simplified article is written to answer her question, and those of others with similar questions that have bombarded my inbox for an explanation as to why, to borrow football terminology, UPND went down 3 – 1 to PF, in our strongholds, and with only 7 months to go before the greatest election in Zambia’s 56 year history.

THE ANSWER IS YES WE ARE SAFE

To answer the question simply, yes we are safe, UPND is very safe, and on sound footing to pull off the greatest upset in election history this August when PF will be trounced by a landslide protest vote.

Why? Because the simmering hatred, anger and frustration which 9 out of every 10 Zabians feel against the PF regime will literally explode in the ballot on August 12. Low turnout in 3 out of the four wards attests to this fact, Zambians are conserving their voting firepower for August 12 when they’ll come out all guns blazing to teach Lungu the lesson of his life – that silent waters run deep.

GOVT MACHINERY IN BY-ELECTIONS

By-elections are what we refer to as low-hanging fruits in political language, because the govt of the day is always favorite to win by elections using government machinery – meaning all resources at the disposal of government, legal or illegal, to rig the outcome.

In all 4 Ward elections without exception, the DMMU has been on the heels of PF campaign teams, giving Christmas relief food – beans, Kapenta, meali-meal etc. Also in tow, has been FISP pro PF government officials distributing farming inputs to voters, not forgetting social welfare PF officials disbursing ‘social cash transfer monies’ of K100 per vote with a bonus to be paid after a favorable outcome.

So dear lady, fellow citizens, it’s in such an environment that you see the brutal citizen-killers, PF winning in poverty and hunger stricken Zambia where a rural voter is literally held at bag-point – a bag of meali-meal or bag of fertilizer for a vote. Livingstone is the exception, and that explains why only a Ward nestled in an urban economy base like Livingstone could overcome this carrot tactic.

Mark my words, just like Livingstone, Lusaka and Copperbelt will turnout 90% votes for UPND on August 12 2020 despite all the money PF pours into the cities nestled in an urban economy teeming with disgruntled unemployed youths ready to teach Lungu the lesson of his lifetime. Take heart, we’re very safe.

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Mainda Simataa is a political strategist, researcher and UPND aspiring councillor for Kamwala Ward 5 in Lusaka. He’s also a political correspondent for the African Observor tabloid based in Kampala, Uganda