Political Scientist Dr Neo Simutanyi has described as irresponsible remarks by Republican President Michael Sata that he will only develop areas where there are Patriotic Front Members of Parliament.
Dr Simutanyi was commenting on President Sata’s remarks on Wednesday during a political rally in Southern Province, where he threatened local citizens to give up their allegiance to the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) and vote for the ruling party if they wanted to see any development funds invested in the area.
“Sata’s statement that he will only develop areas where there are only PF MPs is irresponsible. Firstly who is he to dictate the choice of the people in a democratic society,” Dr Simutanyi said.
“It is not only irresponsible but discriminatory because the people should be able to make their own decisions based on their conviction,” he continued. ”We pray that he was only speaking in the heat of a political moment and never meant what he said.”
Dr Simutanyi added: “In a democratic society people have a right to choose so it is very unfortunate and tends to reverse the democratic steps that the country has made over the years.”
President Sata is warming up for impending by-elections that his party has been instigating through a historically unprecedented number of legal challenges before the Electoral Tribunal as well as defections to the PF, which his opponents say is aimed at building an absolute majority in the National Assembly, returning Zambia to a de facto one-party state.
So far he has made stops in Western Province where two more by elections will be held after the PF lost Lukulu West and Southern Province where Sinazopngwe and Itezhi Tezhi are on the roster.
The PF has successfully forced more than a dozen parliamentary by-elections in the past year, sometimes by enticing a sitting MP among the opposition to switch parties, which triggers an election for a seat that the same person eventually wins back for the PF.
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