The Upcoming Elections

There is a national election this Thursday, September 28, and talk of politics abounds. The elections are for the president, members of parliament, and also regional councilors. While the funds spent aren’t nearly as large as they would be at the approach of a presidential election in the US, the signs of campaigning are ever-present. There are posters everywhere for the various candidates, TV and radio ads, and vehicles with loudspeakers that roam the streets praising the virtues of their candidate or party. The news media is also highly involved and will present the most inflammatory remarks of each candidate. People are encouraged to vote for a particular candidate because he has the experience needed, or he has the fresh ideas, or he’s a man of action, etc. People also tend to gravitate towards the candidate who has the same tribal background as they do.

There are five different candidates for president, but most of the press is about two front runners. The current president, Levy Mwanawasa is running again. Those who support him feel that he has improved Zambia and that his momentum should be allowed to continue. Those who are opposed to him, however, feel that he hasn’t done enough to reduce poverty and corruption, and that the taxes are too high. There also are concerns about his health since he recently had a minor stroke. The main opponent in the news is a man named Michael Sata. He is very popular amongst those who are less well off. He makes bold (and sometimes inflammatory) statements, and is considered a man of action due to the changes he made at the ministry of health. He has made promises, however, that others feel are unrealistic such as creating lots of new housing within 90 days of his election, and reducing the tax rate. He also has made some great overtures to Taiwan, which has resulted in the Chinese saying that they will withdraw their significant investments if he is elected. A third candidate that I have become aware of is a wealthy businessman, Hakainde Hichilema, who goes by the nickname H.H. because his name is hard to spell and pronounce. He doesn’t seem as dynamic as the other two, but is running at the head of a coalition of parties that has some momentum. His angle is that he has the business background needed to get the economy going in sensible ways. He doesn’t have the government experience, of the other two candidates, but he seems to be avoiding some of their inflammatory rhetoric and unrealistic promises.

That’s all for now, but I’ll keep you posted on how this all works out. My apologies to any readers who are more educated on Zambian politics than I am.