Wina Hosts Illegal Rally, Met With Cheers Of ‘Zambia Forward’

Vice President Inonge Wina was caught off-guard yesterday when she called out to a crowd of supposed Patriotic Front supporters ‘Zambia’, and they replied with ‘Forward!’

The crowd chuckled knowingly at the motto of the United Party for National Development, before breaking into cheers of ‘One Zambia, One Nation’. 

Footage of the response went viral on social media, with Twitter user Victor Kanyense captioning the video “Vice President Inonge Wina can’t resist the wind of change fiercely blowing across the country. Her Hon is now literally campaigning for HH & UPND at a #piyefu rally”.

The event was in blatant violation of Covid-19 restrictions, following the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s decision to ban political rallies in June. Since then, the UPND and other opposition parties have resorted to roadshows, followed by mask distribution exercises in order to comply with restrictions. However, the Patriotic Front has largely ignored these rules, continuing to hold campaign events despite the fact that it was President Lungu who initially ordered the crackdown on rallies. 

The cheers of Zambia Forward!’ seem to bear out the UPND’s ‘watermelon tactics’ where supporters pretend to back the PF but secretly vote for the opposition. It may also reflect recent polling data, which gave the UPND a 2 point advantage over the government. 

According to the data from Afrobarometer, the PF has been haemorrhaging support over the past few years, with only 22.9% of respondents now saying they would vote for the party (down from 44.8% in 2017).