AFRICA CONFIDENTIAL TIPS ECL FOR VICTORY

By ADRIAN MWANZA THE Africa Confidential Magazine has placed President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front (PF) to win next week’s elections with a landslide victory. National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader Saboi Imboela in an interview backed the projection by Africa Confidential and said the PF would win the elections outrightly. Ms Imboela said that being a political scientist she was sure that the PF would come out victorious and retire UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema. She however said that the PF needed to work extremely hard to ensure an outright victory. Ms Imboela said that the developmental projects that had been rolled out by the PF would propel the party and President Lungu to victory. ‘’I feel the PF will carry the day no doubt about it, but they should not relent and continue working hard if the they are to win out rightly,’’ she said. She said that the fight was tight but that the PF was poised for victory because leaders in the ruling party had wooed potential voters. And Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) president Andrew Ntewewe said that the projection by the magazine was on point. Mr Ntewewe said that the African Confidential was just indicating what was on the ground and that it was a true reflection of what people wanted. ‘’If you remember we projected that president Lungu will the elections by over 60 per cent and the projection by Africa Confidential is spot on,’’ he said. Mr Ntewewe said that the projection however should not make the PF relax but make them to continue working extra hard to make that a reality. Africa Confidential has stated that Mr Lungu’s lead could only be assailed by a landslide for Mr Hichilema and the UPND which was not possible. The publication said President Lungu would retain power because the PF had been attracting the vote of the civil servants and farmers through news of hope and the expansion of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). The Magazine stated that there appear to be nothing that would thwart President Lungu’s victory in the coming presidential and legislative elections. It disclosed that the UPND leader had invested US$5 million in the campaign in his attempt to emulate late President Michael Sata’s Parallel Voter Tabulation (PVT). Africa Confidential is one of the longest-established specialist publications on Africa, with a considerable reputation for being first with in-depth news and analysis on significant political, economic and security developments across the continent.