By 
Centre for Peace Research and Advocacy (CPRA) has called on political parties participating in the August general elections to exercise caution and fairness in their candidate adoption processes, warning that sidelining popular candidates could undermine both democratic legitimacy and electoral performance.
CPRA Executive Director, Cliffton Chifuwe, said any adoption method that ignored public sentiment, including grassroots popularity, risked political defeat.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Sunday, Chifuwe also urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia to enforce strict adherence to democratic norms and disqualify any political party that failed to conduct credible intra-party elections before submitting presidential nominations.
He stressed that internal party democracy remained fundamental to the country’s wider democratic integrity.
“While CPRA acknowledges that political parties must consider various factors when adopting candidates, sidelining popular candidates in favour of weaker ones under opaque criteria would amount to political miscalculation,” Chifuwe said.
Read More: Tonse Alliance says 16 members detained in Kalulushi, alleges targeted arrests
He argued that popular candidates often bolstered parliamentary chances and contributed significantly to the overall presidential vote, making careful and transparent adoption processes essential.
Addressing allegations that some parties intend to bar unsuccessful aspirants from contesting as independents, Chifuwe said such measures would contravene constitutional rights.
“Constitutional rights cannot be curtailed by any individual or political party authority,” he said, noting that Articles 51 and 70 of the Constitution guaranteed the right to contest elections, subject to established qualifications.
Chifuwe said President Hakainde Hichilema, during his address to Parliament, reaffirmed commitment to constitutional principles, adding that any statement contradicting those commitments must be dismissed “with the contempt it deserves.”
He said constitutional rights were “sacrosanct principles established by the supreme law of the land.”
Chifuwe was reacting to reports that Gilbert Liswaniso had allegedly stated that the United Party for National Development would not adopt candidates based solely on popularity and that aspirants who failed to secure adoption would not be allowed to stand as independents to prevent vote-splitting.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR
Comments