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Zambia: National Elections and Credible Leadership.
On September 28th,
2006, Zambians will vote in tripartite elections to choose a President,
Members of Parliament and local officials.
Incumbent
President Levy Mwanawasa, 57, from the Movement for Multi Party
Democracy is seeking a second five-year term after being in office since
2001. Earlier this year, Mwanawasa suffered a mild stroke that landed
him in a UK- based hospital for treatment. He has declared himself fit
to campaign for another term of presidency despite opposition leaders’
calls for him to step aside on medical grounds.
In a surprising
move, three major Zambian political parties have come together to
endorse a joint candidate for the September 28th elections.
Hakainde Hichilema, a prominent Lusaka businessman who of late has
scooped the leadership of a main opposition party (UPND), has been
chosen to challenge the presidential seat. They are 5 candidates to
contest the presidency. 150 parliamentary seats are open.
As the elections
draw near, politicians will return to their constituents to make more
unfulfilled promises again! Local people are usually bribed with money,
food, cooking oil and sugar in exchange for votes. This bribery
mentality prevents elections to be about developmental or policy based
issues.
Whoever wins the
2006 elections faces enormous economic and social challenges in Zambia.
Currently, Zambia has high levels of poverty with the majority of people
(70%) living below the poverty level.
A visit to the
western province of Zambia where the Oblate missions are located
will prove the above sentiments correct. The Western province is the
least developed part of Zambia, despite the fact that prominent
government officials come from the region. It lacks proper and
maintained roads; hence local people have no accessibility to economic
opportunities. The education system has understaffed and unpaid teachers
and lacks educational materials and structures. This results in children
and young people receiving poor education.
A substantial
number of people live in destitute conditions with no access to clean
water or decent housing, with food shortages common. Healthcare centers
are mostly understaffed and lack necessary medicines, thus making the
HIV/AIDS pandemic a major challenge for Zambia’s leadership.
The Oblate
Response:
Since those
seeking public office are not accountable to the people and make no
effort to describe in any detail their policy positions, the Catholic
Justice and Peace commissions in Oblate parishes of Western Zambia have
engaged in a civic awareness and electoral information campaign to
educate local communities in how to identify development issues, choose
credible leaders and identify election offences.
For more
details, please see the Zambian CCJDP Newsletter of August/September,
2006 on this website.
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