Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) has observed that United Party for National Development (UPND) and the ruling PF will be stronger competitors in the forthcoming presidential by-election.
And YALI has advised the ruling PF to change its violence image, saying it will not help them during the by-elections.
Speaking in an interview with QFM News, YALI Governance Advisor Isaac Mwanza says the former ruling party the MMD still is a factor in the decision of who will win the elections.
Mr. Mwanza notes that the PF have never been subjected to a test of popularity for seats they hold either in urban and rural areas and so the party cannot rely on the numbers from the 2011 elections to claim popularity in urban areas.
He says though all political parties may have an equal chance of winning the forthcoming Presidential by election, he fears that the voter turnout will be at its lowest ever since Zambian reverted to multipartism in 1991.
He says apart from the leadership wrangles, the PF will not have issues like they had in 2011 to convince majority thinking Zambians that they mean well for the people of Zambia.
He furthermore notes that the employment freeze will be an issue the youth may buy for deciding who to vote for in the Presidential by election while workers will also think whether the PF is committed to lifting the wage freeze that will see most of them getting the same salaries while the cost of living continues to go up.
The YALI Governance Advisor has also charged that Zambians want to hear what the opposition has to offer but the opposition have not been very clear in sending messages to the Zambian voters regarding how they intend to undo the damage the PF have created.
He says Zambians have learnt from the PF never to trust a politician when they make promises and this may have a negative impact on campaigns that will be waged by the opposition that will be full of promises.
Mr. Mwanza adds that the PF need a stronger candidate that Zambians will believe can change things if given a chance and will not do them a ‘don’t Kubeba’ again.