{"id":51107,"date":"2023-11-04T20:49:23","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T20:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/?p=51107"},"modified":"2023-11-04T06:54:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T06:54:45","slug":"would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026","title":{"rendered":"Would HH concede electoral defeat in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>Bamushanina bwali (praise singers) tulefulilakofye which is why the pool of critical minds capable of providing decent checks and balances to the incumbent government is shrinking \u2013 at an alarming rate for that matter. Could this be the reason why amidst this paucity in political discourse, the gist of a critical electronic posting (was it on twitter or X) by a hip shooting academic almost got drowned in infantile noises.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lungu might help HH to peacefully concede defeat,\u2019 \u2013 is one of the recent postings by Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa that has caused some consternation across the political aisle. Justifying his argument in the write up, he chronicled roles played by former Heads of State, from KK to Rupiah Banda \u2013 in resolving electoral disputes. Delving deeper, the apt summation of this write up infers that Lungu is unlikely to stand in the next elections but could however play the role of an arbiter in the event that President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) loses but refuses to concede.<\/p>\n

Ghastly as it seems for the UPND faithful to fathom such a reality, this tweet implicitly entertains the prospect of HH losing the next Polls. You see, politics is habitually allergic to crystal balls. In any case ours is a constitutional democracy, we shouldn\u2019t stifle free thinking. Hence this question, would HH concede if he lost? Let\u2019s ignore the answer for now, I\u2019m already fashioning expletives raining down on me for having a brain, the size of a bean pole. Ni mbanje ya bwanji yamene abema uyu mufana, Hakainde ku luza sure \u2013 loosely translated as, what type of weed is this lad inhaling to contemplate such a possibility?<\/p>\n

Pitfalls of overconfidence Borrowing a famous idiomatic expression coined by former British Premier Harold Wilson, a week is indeed a long time in politics \u2013 besides the Polls are almost 2 and half years away. That said, it\u2019s thus implausible to give an outright prediction of who will win the next elections. Need we remind those that have forgotten the disappointment that characterised the over-confident cheer leaders of this chant, \u2018Alebwelelapo pamupando\u2019. Sarcastic as it reads, the President has crafted a better response for nay sayers seeking to defy political gravity. Natwikalapo, alebwelelapo pamupando wisa?<\/p>\n

Naivety is rife in our body politic which is why disbelief tears and loud wailing shrouded the aftermath of the August 2021 Polls. It took statesmen, Bai Koroma, Jakaya Kikwete and Rupiah Banda to convince a crestfallen Edgar Lungu to concede. This is the nature of a beast called politics. Further afield in the land of the free which also boasts one of the world\u2019s oldest democracies, the mop haired one still refuses to concede to Joseph Biden who trumped him at the polls \u2013 three years after he grudgingly left the White House for the quieter confines of Mara Largo in Florida.<\/p>\n

Aside from the view that the UPND is the front runner \u2013 at least granted the fragmented opposition, it is only rational for other people to hold a different opinion. Lest we meander off this discussion, the gist is not to ascertain the UPND\u2019s electoral prospects but determine whether HH has the magnanimity or temperament to accept defeat in the event that Zambians reject him in 2026. Back to the question, would he concede and quietly vacate the Presidency?<\/p>\n

Travesty of Justice Let\u2019s take a step back. It took him five failed attempts to wrest the Presidency eventually succeeding on his sixth shot, a rare mark of resilience \u2013 Albert Einstein certainly has living equals. On his 5th attempt in 2016, he lost by a whisker \u2013 prompting him to seek redress from courts for what he claimed were electoral malpractices by the former governing party.<\/p>\n

Did the court find merit in his claim? The Constitutional Court regrettably dismissed his petition on a technicality \u2013 this without hearing his argument. This judgement was a travesty of Justice, a blatant disregard of the law. In her own words, quote verbatim, Justice Hilda Chibomba admitted as much. \u2018It is a painful decision for the court to take to dismiss the case without hearing the evidence, but there is nothing the court could have done considering the time limit provided to conclude the petition,\u2019 reads a part of her judgement.<\/p>\n

<\/a>It\u2019s HH\u2019s response though to this judgement that provides us a glimpse of his ability to stretch his fight for his rights. \u2018I never thought one day we will have a situation where an election petition will be dismissed without hearing evidence from the parties. Our position is that we came to this court to seek justice, but it has been denied to us by this court. And as such, we have not conceded in the just-ended Presidential election where the Patriotic Front was declared winner,\u2019 he remarked. This was vintage HH in opposition then, steadfast, principled but defiant to the bitter end.<\/p>\n

Would he concede? Could a successful conclusion of his petition have swayed his mind \u2013 assuming the Judgement went against his party? Only he knows the answer. However, few would disagree that he never recognised the Lungu Presidency. In his eyes, the PF were an illegitimate government that had robbed him the most prized possession in Zambian politics. While he has brought decorum to the Presidency the HH who is stubbornly ensconced at Community House \u2013 to the chagrin of many is a vastly transformed politician to the one that was criss-crossing the country begging for votes ahead of the 2021 Polls.<\/p>\n

History has a way of repeating itself. How ironic that once in power, his party has been able to easily bend laws purely for self-serving interests. Case in point \u2013 the UPND twisted the interpretation of a ruling by the same Constitutional Court \u2013 which by the way in 2016, declined to hear their petition to steal the Kwacha and Kabushi Parliamentary seats from the opposition. Then out went the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lillian Siyunyi. Never mind her transgressions, she too like the President has rights yet she was never accorded the opportunity to defend herself against a slew of charges laid before her \u2013 instead she was dealt a cold hand and left to hang in the court of public opinion.<\/p>\n

HH has now tested power and he is using it to maximum effect. Is he using his position to entrench democratic tenets? You see, any politician that has scanty regard for the judiciary or rule of law is a danger to democracy. As the saying goes, a democracy where lies have replaced truth, where truth is illusive and where truth is secondary in the conduct of government business with no means of accessing or ability to question, dies in the end. Would he concede?<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. Bamushanina bwali (praise singers) tulefulilakofye which is why the pool of critical minds capable of providing decent checks and balances to the incumbent government is shrinking \u2013 at an alarming rate for that matter. Could this be the reason why amidst this paucity in political discourse, the gist of a critical electronic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":51105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,7,248],"tags":[234,235,233],"class_list":["post-51107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-head-lines","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zambia","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nWould HH concede electoral defeat in 2026? - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bamushanina bwali (praise singers) tulefulilakofye which is why the pool of critical minds capable of providing decent c ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Would HH concede electoral defeat in 2026?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bamushanina bwali (praise singers) tulefulilakofye which is why the pool of critical minds capable of providing decent c ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-04T20:49:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2023\/11\/sm_1699068205.128365.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Would HH concede electoral defeat in 2026?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-04T20:49:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026\"},\"wordCount\":1129,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2023\/11\/sm_1699068205.128365.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Zambia\",\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"head lines\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/would-hh-concede-electoral-defeat-in-2026\",\"name\":\"Would HH concede electoral defeat in 2026? 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