PF 2021 fate awaits UPND next month – Shamenda
By Ludia Ngwadzai
THE UPND’s 2021 electoral victory over the Patriotic Front (PF) was a protest vote against cadreism and nothing else, former minister of labour Fackson Shamenda says.
Speaking in an interview with The Mast, Shamenda said in 2021 Zambians wanted to teach the PF a lesson on how not to take people for granted.
He said the UPND and President Hakainde Hichilema were not the best but were identified as an option to replace the PF at that moment.
“The UPND did not win the 2021 general election because it was the best. No, they won because Zambians wanted to teach the PF a lesson for messing up. The Patriotic Front (PF) lost it through its own actions,” he said.
Shamenda said what happened to the PF would happen again next month against the UPND.
He said the opposition should prioritise vote protection in the August 13 elections.
“UPND didn’t win the 2021 election. It’s PF that lost the elections. There’s a difference. UPND balicankwila fye [benefited from luck]. It is because PF messed up with cadreism and teargas. That’s what used to happen during PF. That’s why people thought they should give an opportunity to HH [President Hakainde Hichilema],” he said.”
Shamenda said Zambians voted for UPND not out of support for Hichilema but because of the frustration they faced under the PF government.
“People voted for UPND not because they were in love with HH but because they were fed up with what was happening with PF. So, that’s why we keep telling people that UPND didn’t win the 2021 elections, it is PF that lost the elections because of its behaviour and we are seeing that happening again,” he said.
Shamenda warned that history could repeat itself in 2026 if the opposition made the same mistakes.
“And this is exactly what will happen. It doesn’t matter which leaders are in opposition. People are hopeful. And I hope the opposition won’t be foolish to do the same things that made their political party, PF, be booted out of power,” he said.
Shamenda also expressed doubt that this year’s election would be free and fair.
He urged the opposition parties to focus on vote protection if they wanted victory.
“I doubt Zambia will have a free and fair election this year. That’s why people should work hard to make sure that the vote is protected,” Shamenda said.
He said vote protection was not an easy undertaking, urging the opposition to invest in it.
“I have been through those elections, and I know how it is. It was not easy to win an election from MMD. I was involved myself. It was not easy to protect the vote. So, now I appeal to the opposition that they should concentrate on how they are going to protect the vote. Those votes which are against them they should protect. The votes which belong to them they should make sure they are properly accounted for,” he said.
