The
election to choose the sixth president of Zambia has gone. We can finally get
back to normality for the next 18 months at least before we are back to the
drama once again. Congratulations to Patriotic Front's Edgar Lungu for emerging
victorious. It is almost quite difficult to wonder how a party that had been in
power for nearly three years was so close to exiting the doors of State House.
Despite there being 11 presidential candidates on the ballots, do not be
deceived this was a two-horse race. It was between Edgar Lungu and Hakainde
Hichilema, of Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development
(UPND) respectively. But what happened to the Movement for Multi-party
Democracy (MMD)?
The
MMD is the party that ushered in multi-party democracy in 1991, it was the
party at the helm of the nation for 20 years. It produced, in my opinion the
best president Zambia has had in the late Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. He will be
the man, upon which all future presidents shall be measured. It was also during
their reign that a lot of ruin occurred. Corruption flourished, unemployment
increased as a result of the collapse of significant industries, manipulation
of the constitution and many other sins. When the party president, Dr. Nevers
Mumba does the post mortem of these election in which he managed a paltry 14,
609 votes which represented 0.8% the results will be extremely uninspiring. The
MMD came in fourth and did not even make a blip on the election radar. It is a
shame, the signs are reminiscent to what has become of the United National
Independence Party (UNIP) that continues to cling to past glory. MMD must find
a way to continue on and this why.
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| MMD President Dr. Nevers Mumba |
Checks and balances
It
will be a sad turn of events if MMD follows the route of oblivion. It is
important that the party find a way of resuscitating itself from the coma it
has entered. Zambia is still a young democracy, and every ruling party needs
checks and balances. The UPND needs help to do so, it cannot manage this
herculean task on its own. The MMD can be one such party, which has an added advantage
that the UPND does not have. The MMD was once the ruling party, therefore it
knows the ins and outs of government operations. It still has the largest proportion
of seats in parliament for opposition members that still makes its a
significant factor.
Four-Party State?
The
ballot paper this time had 11 candidates, we all know that over half of them
were time wasters and just increasing the length of the paper. I would like to
see the list of political parties in this country trimmed to say four
significant parties with distinct policies and approaches to the country's
development. I believe that the MMD can be one of those parties. It already has
a foothold and is known by the majority of Zambians. Parties need to prove that
they have longevity beyond their term in office. The MMD would be a perfect
example for that, I think UNIP is beyond resurrecting. It would be some story
if it were to return in power in the future.
Unity's Sake
The
MMD is not viewed as party that is supported by particular provinces. It has a
broad appeal across the provinces. These elections showed a clear divide in the
voting patterns. All parties including the MMD can help bridge this divide. The
leaders have a very important role to play in ensuring that it still remains
'One Zambia, One Nation'. The party already has structures in the grassroots
from 20 years in power and these are the ones that the MMD can utilise to
preach unity.
History
The
MMD are the party that won elections after the one-party state. From then on we
have had multi-party elections. Zambia's journey to a democracy cannot be
complete without the mention of MMD. It would be great to have the party that
began the ball rolling still in existing into the future. In fact, they can be
in a position to be the party that others parties look up to. They have been in
this game for so long and with the exception of UNIP no other party have been
in existence longer than them.
Many
celebrated the dismal performance of MMD, but it was difficult for me to be one
of them. I would not like to see Patriotic Front disappear when a new party
comes into power. I would like to see them continue in existence. Perhaps the performance
is diminishing my hope of having a nation that has fewer consolidated and
stronger political parties. That will allow Zambians to align themselves with
the party specific policies and this would make for some entertaining politics.
So yes, MMD must live and not die, they must now find a way how.
