Zambian Politics, When chaos becomes mundane

The turducken of chaos manifested by the number of citizens aspiring for the presidency this coming August, at first glance, appears to be one of brain-tangling complexity. It is not. Ask yourself a few pertinent questions: Who has the most to benefit from such a confused state of affairs 2) Who has the capacity to sponsor the large number of underwhelming Bozos we saw at Mulungushi masquerading as political party leaders and 3) Can this system that dubiously and frivolously denied eminent lawyer John Sangwa’s movement transformation into a political party, a regime that has eviscerated the once Omni-potent, ubiquitous Patriotic Front to a point of languishing in obscurity, under normal, sane circumstances allow such a crowded field of play?

A multiplicity of aspirants in any election invariably favours the incumbent as while his voter base, though considerably shrunken, remains intact, the opposition’s vote becomes fragmented. In answer to the second question, we must look at the financial capability of most, not all, of those who have paid the K100,000 presidential nomination fee. Where did these involuntary pedestrians get US$5000 each to fork out on an election where it is more probable for wine to turn back into grapes, than any of them emerging victorious?

Lastly, are all the various contesting parties compliant with the bureaucratic muck at the Registrar of Societies? Has there been complicity to allow as many candidates as possible to enhance the advantage of incumbency? Padding of the ballot with nonentity surrogates smirks of a paranoid, vindictive, conspiracy-addled wannabe autocracy desperately trying to cling to power.

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This skullduggery must be seen for what it is. The malaise, unfortunately, does not bend there. At parliamentary level, several Independent and PF MPs have crossed the floor and joined the UPND.

Under article 72 of the constitution the renegade MPs cease to be parliamentarians and their seats should immediately be declared vacant, an action not undertaken by speaker Nellie Mutti. It is no coincidence that the executive has introduced 72 bills to be enacted before the end of this parliament’s life in less than two weeks time. What this means, in essence, is that as the defectors have abrogated their oversight role these bills will be passed with haste and without requisite scrutiny, effectively reducing the legislative process to a rubber stumping exercise.

As noted by Lukashya MP and PF Legal Affairs Chair, George Chisanga both the inertia by the speaker and the number of bills presented at the tail end of a parliamentary session is unprecedented. Rising on a point of order Mkushi South MP Davies Chisupa asked if the house was in order to allow defectors to continue sitting when the law as prescribed in article 72 is clear adding that he had not witnessed such lawlessness in 15 years as a lawmaker. Speaker Mutti replied that the matter was being studied after Nkana’s Binwell Mpundu raised a similar point earlier on.

Legal experts among them former Justice Minister Winter Kabimba have declared that any business conduct in the presence of the defectors would be illegal and therefore non binding. The astoundingly scandal-prone speaker appears to be blissfully unaware of the transience of her position. She remains a totalitarian threat to liberty.

What is not clear, however, is why the defectors did not wait for the dissolution of parliament before announcing their treachery. Could it have been for the optics as most defections were done at scheduled events graced by the president and presented an opportunity to show UPND strength in traditional PF strongholds? Were there time constraints that may have negatively affected their adoption as UPND candidates?

We are bound to find out in due course, especially when, as expected, most are not adopted for re-election. But then, with 70 new constituencies, the delimitation process may, sadly, have been engineered to avoid just such a scenario!

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