JOSTLING FOR PACT POPULARITY

So, the Chilanga and Mpulungu parliamentary elections have gone behind us now.
I followed with glee, the events, activities and statements that preceded the polls.
Today, United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema (HH) has asked Zambians to use the results of the Chilanga and Mpulungu by-elections to judge who is more popular between the Patrotic Front (PF) and his UPND in their political pact.
The UPND won the Chilanga seat while the PF tumbled successfully and with flying colours after making so much noise and sending earth moving tremors from in Mpulungu.
I consider the statement from HH to be a throbbing insinuation targeted at his PF counterpart who has been making running commentaries that his party is more popular than the southern province concentrated UPND.
Mr HH must have aching ribs now because of the laughter. He is having the last laugh because his pact partner had really anticipated the opposite of the current results.
The PF tormented the UPND during the Chilanga campaigns because some members of the PF were actually going round the constituency, urging voters not to vote for their pact partners. I think this is a shame. It shows the lack of morals and how loose the pact is especially with its destiny, a total failure.
The PF was conspicously missing in Chilanga, but I thought they UPND was contesting under the pact and the two parties needed to amalgamate their efforts on equal basis to achieve a common goal.
The reality has come to haunt the PF now because they are actually the ones stomaching the bitter pill of losing an election they initially (mis)took for a walk over.
The wish of the PF was for the UPND to lose the Chilanga seat so that they could make noise this day that they are popular in the pact and this would have been the reason why the PF could have fielded a candidate for the seat.
I hear the PF is on course to petition their loss in Mpulungu to the MMD. I would advise the party to proceed and not waste time over such a simple matter. I think the idea to is a squeaky whin, especially of sour grapes and bitterness. The best is to adopt levelheadedness, evaluate how the loss was achieved and tackle to mistakes next time. Pride, self praise and denial would not work in such an environment. politics of popularity, mudslinging, defamation, truth (especially the lack of it) and patronage is not going to sustain the so called pact. Mr Sata is claiming that the MMD stole their votes in Mpulungu is not anything new. He has made this boring statement each time is loses an election. In any, case, he fails to justify his claims when given a competent fora to provide his proof.
If the Chilanga and Mpulungu by-elections were a litmus test to determine the popularity of either the PF or UPND in the loose alliance, then the writing is on the wall. And this is that UPND is popular in Chilanga while is the PF is unpopular in Mpulungu. Zambia is a vast to restrict it to the two constituencies, but if HH wants to comfort himself, then he can proceed at own peril.
But over and above, I hope Captain Cosmas Moono who got the Chilanga seat comes with new ideas to the House in this second platter. Forget about the rhetoric during the campaigns. We want to see how the people of Chilanga would want to feel that they have a representative in Parliament. Mr Moono, do not rush to feel those loan applications yet before you can deliver on your promises.
This is the same message I am delivering for Given Mungomba of Mpulungu.