Crushing defeat awaits UPND, says Lifwekelo
UPND should not be excited with its victory in the Sesheke by-election because a crushing defeat awaits them in the 2021 general elections as the PF has a strong presidential candidate who has never lost a single poll, Edwin Lifwekelo has said.
Mr Lifwekelo, a former UPND deputy spokesperson, said in an interview yesterday that the PF was not shaken by the Sesheke election outcome.
Commenting on the by-election on Tuesday in which UPND candidate Romeo Kang’ombe was voted Member of Parliament, Mr Lifwekelo said the UPND was “celebrating a successful hunt of an elephant with only a rabbit of their shoulders.”
He said the fact that Mr. Kang’ombe went ballistic soon after being declared as duly elected MP, showed the calibre of leadership in the UPND which had perpetually made them lose elections and that with President Edgar Lungu declared eligible to contest the 2021 elections, it was impossible for them to unseat the PF. It was illogical for UPND to use the Sesheke parliamentary by-election as a litmus test for the 2021 elections but that the UPND should instead be worried that the nation had once again been shown that it was a tribal party still deep-rooted in politics of tribe and regionalism. “Of course there is too much excitement among the UPND leaders because for them to win the Sesheke parliamentary election, they think they have won a presidential election. They are already bragging that they will win the 2021 election without realising that the PF is fielding President Edgar Lungu who has never lost any election at that level.
“While they have the right to celebrate their victory which they attained through violence, they will be misguiding themselves to think that this is a litmus test for 2021 because President Lungu will crush them again. They are perpetual losers and so, we are not even worried because our strength is unmatched,” Mr Lifwekelo said.
He said the UPND was now more fragile now than it was in 2016 and could not win any presidential election.
“So, all this ruckus they are causing can only be likened to someone who goes hunting for elephants and comes back celebrating the successful hunt of elephants with only a rabbit on his shoulders because 2021 will be a different game altogether,” he said.