POLITICAL SOBRIETY

ZAMBIA requires sober discourse and regular political dialogue to forestall tension and violence as the country prepares for the 2021 general election campaigns.

Next year, which is about two months from now, many political parties will be crafting their campaign strategies and get into motion for the Local Government, Parliamentary and Presidential polls.

Going by what has been witnessed in by-election campaigns thus far, there is bitter rivalry in the political arena which many a time degenerates into violence.

In February this year, violence reared its ugly head during the Sesheke parliamentary by-election campaigns in Western Province.

Two months later, the skirmishes resurfaced in the Roan parliamentary by-election in Luanshya.

In July this year, the country witnessed pockets of violence in the Local Government elections held in Lubwa ward in Kitwe, Mansa’s Lwingishi ward, Mangango and Kanabulimbu wards in Kaoma and Mayembe in Shiwang’andu.

The clashes have mainly been between the United Party for National Development (UPND) and the Patriotic Front (PF).

It will be prudent for the two political nemesis to reflect on the past violent encounters and seek a permanent solution so that future polls can be peaceful.

One of the most effective strategies is the interparty dialogue which has eluded this country for a long time partly because the main political parties have tended to proffer pre-conditions.

For once, political parties must climb down from their ivory towers and accept to meet without setting pre-conditions.

They should not also focus so much on who should chair political dialogue as this also tends to scuttle the planned talks and also triggers bitter rivalry between the Church mother bodies and the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue.

The talks have also collapsed even before they start because of the toxic sentiments among political rivals.

Therefore, there is an imperative need to ensure sobriety and a level political landscape where all political parties should have equal opportunities to sell their manifestos among members during rallies.

This is an opportune time to start designing plausible ways of bringing the UPND, other opposition political parties on one hand and the PF on the other as the campaign period for the 2021 general elections is drawing near.

Yes, it seems all attention is steeped into the debate about Zesco’s load-shedding management and its effects on domestic as well as commercial customers.

The poor rain pattern in the previous season, the challenges surrounding the Farmer Input Support Programme and the blossoming debt have taken the better part of public discourse.

This has consigned political dialogue to the pending basket.

Politicians must thus sober up and resume preparations for political dialogue and other mechanisms that will narrow the gap between the opposition and the ruling party.

Zambia is known to be an oasis of peace in Africa and beyond, having witnessed smooth leadership transitions through six Heads of State.

This is an admirable record that needs to be maintained and hugely depends on the conduct of politicians from the two sides.

It will be an illusion for citize ns and politicians to think that peace is guaranteed without any effort to embrace each other in true reconciliation.

Zambia requires political sobriety!