Dr. Masimba Mavaza
Democracy was out to test as the world Unites in a rare moment of fear to hide from the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic arrived at a difficult time for democracy, in the midst of a resurgence of authoritarianism around the world.
One observer in the just ended elections in Zambia said: “In spite of the regrettable events that took place towards the announcement of the final results I still contend that the general administration of the Zambian elections was probably streets ahead of most African countries.”
Zambia has taught us that tribalism serves to destroy the party and the nation. Tribalism has been the fundamental organizational unit of our own Midlands for a number of years. Judging from what happened in Zambia the party must question the viability of tribalism in the burgeoning democratic systems of the region. This study weighs in on this debate, focusing specifically on how There are very senior ministers in Midland who practice tribalism to an extend of fabricating charges and trying to arm-twist the police to detain a sitting MP and vice chairman of the party for a case which warrants none such.
These senior ministers who claim to be close to the president believe that the tribal loyalties influence the effectiveness of political parties. The party survived through its people regardless of their tribal origin.
If tribalism is not dealt with in Midlands the party will disintegrate. Tribalism is considered by political science researchers to be the most effective way for the people to impose their will on the government. The senior ministers in Midlands should understand that tribalism is inherently at odds with democracy, and it hinders democratic systems, such as political parties, when tribal loyalties trump national ones.
Zambia scheduled to hold elections and was forced to decide whether to hold them as scheduled or postpone them. It finally agreed to proceed with the elections where the opposition went on to snatch the throne. In this cases, Zambia grappled with how to administer elections as safely as possible, while addressing the multitude of new issues the pandemic has presented, i.e. how to include the votes of those that are quarantined, how to avoid a spike in cases, how to handle campaigning, how to avoid politics and manipulation of new election processes, how to identify resources to finance additional expenses such as personal protective equipment, sanitizing polling places, and maintaining security, and how to be as transparent and inclusive as possible in decision making.
Since the pandemic began, 75 countries and territories have postponed elections, more than 95 have held elections as planned, and more than 45 have held elections that were initially postponed. Important lessons have been learned over the last several months about how to deal with these and other issues so that the integrity of elections might be preserved.
The Zambian general election has been heralded by all and sundry alike to be the most consequential political decision that the Zambia has faced in generations. COVID-19 continues to negatively impact communities at home and abroad. Zambia gave Zimbabwe free lessons in that all Election across the country were working diligently to ensure that this election can run as smoothly and fairly as possible.So the ruling party works overtime in sorting national elections amidst its campaign.
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