By Prince Bill M. Kaping’a In their desperate attempt to discredit President Hichilema, the opposition has seized every opportunity to push the narrative that HH has divided the nation. They gleefully cite the outcome of recent elections as proof. What kind of warped reasoning is this? In the United States — the very citadel of […]
*By Prince Bill M. Kaping’a *
In their desperate attempt to discredit President Hichilema, the opposition has seized every opportunity to push the narrative that HH has divided the nation. They gleefully cite the outcome of recent elections as proof.
What kind of warped reasoning is this?
In the United States — the very citadel of democracy we claim to emulate — voters have always followed predictable regional patterns. For decades, there have been solidly Democratic “blue states” and solidly Republican “red states.” The West Coast and Northeast are Democratic strongholds, while the South and Midwest lean Republican. And even within those states, the pattern flips: rural areas in blue states often vote red, while major cities in red states often vote blue.
If we took a closer near home, in South Africa, the same trend holds. The Western Cape has long been a DA base, KZN and parts of Gauteng swing between ANC, IFP and MK, while Limpopo and the Eastern Cape remain ANC strongholds.
Regional voting patterns are not evidence of a president dividing a nation. They reflect history, economics, and demographics that existed long before any one leader. To blame HH for a map that looks the same every election is not analysis. It’s cheap propaganda!
Given the foregoing, it’s obvious that the voting pattern in our beloved country shall remain the same, RED or Green, for a long time to come unless a miracle happens. There’s no need to malign or call each other names.
On the other hand, Lusaka and Copperbelt shall equally remain battleground provinces for political parties. As they are cosmopolitan by nature, they may not be easily attracted or moved by ethnic affiliations but rather party manifestos.
Have you taken the trouble to interrogate how UNZA and CBU voted for instance in the recent elections? UPND had a field day harvesting votes at these institutions as students are very attracted to the party’s education policy.
