PF CAUTIONED OVER MAYORAL POLLS
WE cannot afford any slipups in the forthcoming mayoral election but we must put up a splendid performance that will send a message that we are no match for the opposition especially after setting the bar very high in Chilanga, Edwin Lifwekelo has said.
And Mr. Lifwekelo has urged PF candidates who have applied to stand on the party ticket to tame their supporters from character assassination messages against each other as doping so would be create enmity.
Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr. Lifwekelo said the fiholiday hangoverfl over the Chilanga by-election victory had ended and that it would be important for the party to take the Lusaka mayoral election as a different contest and avoid getting puffed up with past glory as doing so had huge consequences.
He said the ruling party must maintain the pressure on opposition political parties by keeping up with the momentum it had set for itself in Chilanga to avoid creating any loopholes that the opposition may counteract on and make the election difficult.
fiWe set the bar too high for ourselves in the Chilanga by-election and we must replicate the same in the forthcoming election or do even better. Overconfidence and basking in past glory may bring complacency which may make the lection difficult for us because the opposition political parties are not just sitting idle. They will fight tooth and nail to prove a point that they are still in the race for 2021 and we must be careful not to get carried away by past glory.
fiIt is just clear that we are no match for the opposition but we must put all our strength into this election like we did in Chilanga so that we maintain our strength and win with much ease. From the pool of candidates who have applied, we have the quality and I know that the party will pick the best person who will make it easy for us to win,fl Mr. Lifwekelo said.
And Mr. Lifwekelo called for harmony among camps supporting different candidates by allowing intra-party democracy to flourish through the exercise of tolerance and respect for divergent views among candidates.
fiThis is not a matter of life and death and party interest must precede all our individual aspirations. We have many candidates but there is only one person we must field in and that does not mean we must start fighting among ourselves just to protect the candidate we support. We need to be level-headed and show the rest that we are a party founded on strong democratic principles unlike some opposition political parties which force candidates on their membership.