Ex-ministers fate lesson to all MPs – Laiti
By Mast Reporter
THE dismal performance of former Cabinet ministers in the just-ended 2026 general election must serve as a lesson that a government position is not a guarantee for victory, social media commentator Miyanda Laiti has said.
Laiti noted about half of former ministers who contested parliamentary seats on the United Party for National Development (UPND) ticket lost to the opposition, yet President Hakainde Hichilema won in the same constituencies.
“It is a political lesson, and the new members of Parliament (MPs) would do well to study it carefully. Elections have a brutal way of reminding politicians that public office is never a permanent entitlement,” he said.
“Almost half of the members of the immediate past Cabinet have failed to make it back to Parliament. That development should not simply be treated as an electoral statistic.”
Laiti said there were constituencies where UPND members had openly told their colleagues that they would support Hichilema at presidential level but not vote for the sitting member of Parliament.
He said a ministerial position, a parliamentary seat, proximity to the President or membership of the governing party might provide political visibility, but none of them guaranteed the continued confidence of the electorate.
“The message from the electorate should therefore be taken seriously,” Laiti said.
He said the high number of casualties among former ministers demonstrated that voters could separate the popularity of the President from their assessment of their local representative.
An MP could not assume that the President’s popularity automatically transferred to the ballot paper bearing their own name.
“The President may win the confidence of the electorate while an MP loses it. That is precisely why MPs must build their own relationship with the people. The new Parliament must learn this lesson early. Do not plug cotton wool into your ears when the people begin to complain,” Laiti said.
He said when constituents said an MP was inaccessible, their representative should listen.
When communities complained that development was not reaching them their representative should listen.
“When party members warn that the local political structure is becoming disconnected from ordinary people, listen. When supporters tell you that your personal popularity is declining despite the President remaining popular, listen,” Laiti said.
He advised MPs to listen as they began their five-year term because
the ballot box had already delivered the warning.
