Thursday, March 28, 2024

SADC endorses Zambia’s 2016 polls

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President Edgar Lungu at SADC Summit

The Southern African Development Community-SADC has praised the Electoral Commission of Zambia-ECZ -for conducting credible elections.

SADC has also formally endorsed Zambia’s 2016 general elections as free and fair.

Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda has told Journalists in Pretoria – South Africa that the summit congratulated President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front-PF for emerging victorious in last year’s elections.

Mr. Chanda explained that when President Lungu arrived in Pretoria for the Summit, he was informed about a plan by South Africa’s opposition political parties Economic Freedom Fighters-EFF and the Democratic Alliance-DA to picket him at the hotel.

He said President Lungu suggested that it would benefit the two-opposition political parties’ leadership to meet him and have a one on one talk.

Mr. Chanda said as preparations for the meeting were being pursued by the Zambian mission and South Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President Lungu was informed that the two leaders were no longer interested in the meeting.

He revealed that the President’s idea of meeting the two South African opposition leaders would have benefited them and will only meet the duo if they make themselves available.

81 COMMENTS

  1. Rightfully so

    In simple Zambian English

    The elections were FREE and FAIR and representative of what all Zambians wanted

    Thanks

    BB2014,2016

    • The UPND President is not committed to peace and moving forward. He has betrayed Baroness Scotland already.
      Let him Kaponya (HH) face the Zambian electorate in 2021 and they’ll send him back to hell where he was spawned by the devil.
      Maimane and Julius and their economic mercenary friends can go to hell

    • Not surprising. Only people like our sadist HH and his minions including Odinga could dispute such transparent elections like we had

    • Chanda is not a media representative of SADC. The confirmation could have been more credible if it had come directly from the SADC secretariat.

      On the other issue about the alleged meeting with RSA political giants, Lung deserves better than the likes of Chanda and Mwamba to mention but a few. The meeting arrangements could have been handled more professionally. An embarrassment to ECL is equally an embarrassment to Zambia.

      God bless Zambia

    • Why is this an issue one year after elections. If Edgar was duly elected let him work and fulfill his campaign promises. If I am the father at home, I don’t need to remind the kids that I am their dad everyday….let the president just do his work!

    • So Amos has become the SADC spokesperson?? We want to hear it from SADC not state house, of course his write-up / speech, will have bias favoring them. It’s a shame how Lungu desires to be recognized???

    • I rather find it curious as to how UPND is still hurting about an election that’s a year old. Set your goals at the next election, get more boots on the ground and stop whining PLEASE.

    • SADC is the most useless and toothless body on the African continent. The presidents are all puppets of one another.

    • How on earth can they endorse the elections when the man who should have been elected Chair of the TROIKA was relegated to Vice Chair for poor governance and human rights record? If they didn’t vote for you to be the chair how can they praise you? Amos is ruining the president’s record in Zambia

    • What Chanda left out.
      Protesters, under the banner of the SADC Democracy Forum, pointed to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland regarding democracy, human rights and economic failures.
      Protesters, who also accused the SADC of selling out to multinationals and power elites, included members of the Economic Freedom Fighters, labour federation Cosatu, the SA Communist Party, the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, the opposition People’s United Democratic Movement from Swaziland, the Zimbabwe Communist Party, the Africa Diaspora Forum, the Congo Forum and the Young Communist League.

  2. Time to move on from this election fever. Please stop it! We have work to do.
    It’s already 3 years 11 months to the next election.
    Just stop it already!

    • HAHA, MOVE ON FROM 2016 RIGGED ELECTIONS TO THE 2021 WOULD BE RIGGED ELECTIONS. POOR US WHERE DID WE GET THIS BREED, THEY THINK IT’S A PRIVILEGE.

  3. Malabishi! Why would they endorse him now after all this time, what has prompted them to do so? Was the endorsement sought or requested? Just seems out of place, out of time and awkward… just doesn’t make sense. Can someone post a credible South African newspapers carrying this story?

    This Chanda dude and Lungu are really being troubled and haunted by the elections they stole… you could tell by the fascination to be recognised. It must be daunting, having all that money and all that power but still having sleepiness nights.

    • Mark 8:36

      What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

      Matthew 16:26

      What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

    • Toothless Dog SADC is now cleaning its house which is polluted.

      SADC Leaders rejected to appoint Edgar Lungu as Chair Person for Security Organ.

      PF cadres are surprised, am not surprised, Edgar Lungu is now a laughing stock in the Southern REGION.

      His Fellow DICTATORS are distancing themselves from Edgar Lungu.

      These positions are for People with a good conduct, People with integrity, Honesty People, not LIARS. People who respects the RULE OF LAW, People who respects Human rights, in short people who can be trusted not Criminals.

      The SADC didn’t appoint Edgar Lungu because he doesn’t meet the Criteria.

    • You expect people will believe you? Are you sure?

      PROVE IT !!!

      Let the PETITION be heard.

      Until then, Lungu has no legitimacy and STOLE the election.

    • You duller PF cadre, like your name suggests, when you do not allow UPND and HH to campaign freely on CB , LSK and some parts of Northen, then you are ringing.

      And if someone gave me convincing reasons as to what that code named, Chavula, M7 Boy was doing in the server IT room at ECZ and what happened to him there after, then i would believe the elections were free and fair, but as long as you keep dogging the question you crooked dudderheads in the PF then we will maintain the status quo that you rigged, and rigged big time!

    • UPND is a curse to Zambia!!! You can tell from all the blogs on social media that they are lining up a civil war in Zambia.

  4. Bauzeni Mbuya; The polls where credible and a true reflection of the will of the majority of those who cared to vote. And these whether one likes or not are true Zambian priots. Viva ECL lead our great Nation to real peace and prosperity. This matter must now be put to rest so that detractors can find something else to do. SADC is simply reminding those in self denial. Ba UPND mwiponta muka balilila ba SADC.

  5. LOL – This is clearly a futile attempt to divert attention from the HIV.Aids flop-flop “yes-mandatory, no-mandatory” testing fiasco pronouncements. Ala fikopo ama guys aya.

  6. ??????????after One year, SADC talk show forum has finally realised the Oscar Edward Jonathan was an illegitimate president. Chanda, you have every right to beat your chest even louder. Your boss is still in campaign mode and ‘forgets’ that he won. When is it gonna be time to work? You are misleading him and it’s you and fellow so called advisors who have put Lungu in a difficult corner and have failed to polish his image. Stop stealing??

    • Lungu is oblivious to the situation around him, as long as he collects air miles, his account keeps pilling every year and his thugs threaten anyone who has presidential ambitions…..the clowns around him keep flip flopping and blundering.

  7. What a bunch of ultra-stup!d people you have governing Zambia! How did you get here?! This is beyond pathetic, this is mental sickness. chanda, lungu, kaizer, could avoid this by allowing the petition to be undertaken so that once and for all we will know if lungu is the legitimate president. All indicators say he isn’t. The pressure he is exerting to be recognized loudly proclaim that HE STOLE THAT ELECTION!

  8. Lies by Chanda…..do not believe anything that comes out of his mouth.

    After “summoning” a person they deported, they got rejected and this lier tried to say the opposition figures in SA get instructions from HH ?.
    What a cheap liers these PF rats from statehouse are.

    On this recognition issue it is now plain clear lungu did not win the elections….only the guilty are afraid indeed.

  9. “Don’t point a finger at me, so that I in turn, may not point a finger at you.” That is the game these SADC leaders play. It is the reason Robert Mugabe has stayed and continues to rule and ruin Zimbabwe – no one dare point a finger at him; no one has the capacity or the courage to challenge his legitimacy. Even Ian Khama, who, at one time, was a dissenting voice among them, is now as much a mercenary as are the rest.

    • And what do we, as a region, end-up having in the end? Well, in the end, we, as a region, end-up being the biggest losers. These same illegitimate leaders are the ones who automatically become our representatives and spokespersons in all of the world’s important forums. They are the one who fly to New York to represent our interests at the UN. But what interests of ours do they really have at heart? None, whatsoever. They go there to represent their own interests. That is seen in the way they govern and squander our resources back here at home. It is the reason they would, under circumstances such as these, endeavor to protect and watch each other’s back. They are all taking us for a ride.

    • Where were these same SADC leaders when one of our own was languishing in prison for a crime he was alleged to have committed, but which he never did? What difference did they make? They simply became spectators. They always want to be spectators. What would have happened had it not been for that stranger, that woman who came from out of the blue?

    • Peer review could have worked. What a blessing that would have been to the region and to Africa as a whole. That, however, is not only far fetched. It is untenable, for one reason – these leaders are not in competition, one against another. Neither are they competing for clients as would say, KPMG and Ernest & Young. On the contrary, each of them lays claim to something each affectionately likes to invoke, called: “SOVEREIGNTY.” By it, none of them is a hindrance to another. They cannot and do not step on each other’s toes. Thus, they can afford to co-exist peacefully, never calling shots on each other. This is partly the story why Africa is a non-winner – we protect losers.

    • Good afternoon, disgruntled upnd supporter in diaspora?? The real problem is that it’s not like hh would have come to power and “fixed” everything. In the real real sense, he has nothing different to offer as these politicians are exactly the same. upnd has a huge horde of cadres who would have simply replaced their PF counterparts in the markets and bus stations. The smarter ones would have replaced their PF counterparts in ZESCO, ERB and other parastatals and government positions; only the official language could have switched to tonga!! hh’s company, Saturnia has been refusing to give ex-BP employees their pensions for 11 years now, what kind of a president would he have been?? So the reality is that the majority of Zambians saw no reason to change personnel in government as there…

    • …was nothing new upnd promised. It was going to be replacing your so called “mediocrity” with mediocrity. With the deep ethnic divide that has befallen our nation, it will be difficult to achieve uniform development because as PF is in power, you people will do your best to discredit and shoot it down. If upnd was in power, the other group will do the same. So the onus is on us the people to respect, accept and support these political institutions regardless of who is in office. At the moment PF will do their best to please the constituants who voted for them in Luapula, Eastern, Northern etc at the expense of the other South-Western areas who they perceive as hating them. Result, lopsided development. Loser, the people!!

    • @15.4 Zambian Citizen:
      I see no reason to disagree with your view – at least not in principle. Hakainde or Hichilema, what difference would that have made? Essentially none. He too would have joined the club and quickly assimilated – i.e., he would have become like one of them. The point I am trying to make has nothing to do with Hakainde Hichilema or Edgar Jonathan Lungu. It has everything to do with JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY for all – for us all and for all of us. One of the leaders in the SADC region will be retiring soon, having amassed wealth, he is a billionaire, his daughter – the wealthiest woman in Africa and one of the wealthiest worldwide. He has already hand-picked his successor. And yet we are told, there will be an election! What for? And what has that got to do with that…

    • @15.4 Zambian Citizen:

      CONTINUED:
      And yet we are told, there will be an election! What for? And what has that got to do with that leader or his successor? None whatsoever. My concern is not about them. It’s about us, not them. Robert Mugabe is reportedly going to build a billion dollar university for Zimbabwe – as a tribute to the good people of Zimbabwe! What insult – that is like adding, not salt, but acid to injury. That is our SADC. And that is what I am talking about. It’s about you and me.

    • In the English language, and not in Kiswahili of Lovale, what I am talking about is called “CONFLICT OF INTEREST.” Taking the two leaders I have cited above, for instance: Robert Mugabe is presently cooking something which he soon will have to dish-out. And so is the other, not named, not because he has no name, but rather because the very mention of his name is nostalgic. Each of the two will soon want SADC to appraise presidential elections in their respective countries – each of the two countries, though endowed with natural resources, is an eye sore and a heartbreaking sight. Knowing what is in the offing for them, why would they not want to be “FAIR” when appraising another presidential election in a neighboring country? That, in English, is called: CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

    • Zambian citizen

      HH and UPND would probably be the same as PF as you put it, but the difference between some of us is trying to make sure we have a tool to change that medicracy…..and that tool is democracy….free and fair democracy, that is the only weapon citizens have against medicracy, corruption and mismanagement…now some of you PF rats are unwittingly disarming Zambian citizens of this weapon by supporting thuggery and democratic crackdowns of PF , most of you are disarming citizens of democracy by supporting your tribe who are undermining democracy in Zambia..

      Let’s call a spade a spade, lungu and PF are silencing critics and anyone with opposing views or presidential ambitions, and they are being supported you tribalists….

    • @Meimatungu: Zambia has been having elections since 1991 every five years and twice we have switched from incumbent to opposition. One interesting event catches my imagination: Michael Chilufya Sata. He lost in 2006 and 2008 and strongly condemned the ECZ and the then ruling party MMD for threatening our democracy by manipulating elections. When in 2011 it was apparent he was winning, he was suddenly super quiet. The ECZ had become credible suddenly, and that is when I realised and understood that actually, these institutions do function and we only make noise when it doesn’t go our way. Where you stay, my friend, they have been practicing democracy for over 400 years and they have greatly improved their institutions. Zambia has been practicing democracy for not more than 16 years…

    • …(excluding the 10 transition years of Chiluba’s MMD) and you expect us to be as good as the USA or Europe??? You overrate yourselves because as a civilisation we are evolving. We have successfully ammended our constitution and have barely implemented it (less than 1 year!!), yet you want to judge the government as undemocratic?? As I put it above, we need to support, accept and respect these institutions first. Our judiciary is working under the new constitution for the first time and year, they need space and time to reform, not unconstructive criticism and insults everyday. LET US RESPECT REALITY WHEN IT IS NOT OUR TIME. WE REJECTED CHILUBA’S THIRD TERM, KK’S DICTATORSHIP, THE ABUSE OF THE JUDICIARY BY THE NCHITOS AND THEIR HYENAS; UNLIKE THE ZIMBABWEANS WHO ABANDONED THEIR…

    • …COUNTRY WHEN THINGS WENT BAD AND LET MUGABE REIGN HAVOC, WE ZAMBIANS TAKE CHARGE AND PREVAIL. PF IS JUST PART OF THE JOURNEY, THEY ARE NOT THE ALPHA OR OMEGA, LET US SUPPORT PROGRESSIVE POLITICS THAT WILL ENHANCE OUR DEMOCRACY; NOT THE RUBBISH WE HAVE IN THE OPPOSITION TODAY!!!

  10. Wonders never cease: How can SADC declare last year’s elections ‘free and fair’ when there was a petition which was never heard??It could have been better for SADC to either keep quiet or just say ‘we do not know’

  11. It’s sad that Amos “Scaramucci” Chanda and his partner in crime Emmanuel Mwaimbwa do not see the scorn and ridicule they exposed Lungu and Zambia to by so called “summoning” Malema and Maimane! Especially with Malema, did Lungu honestly know what he was inviting? Check this out:
    “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA0W6bNxp_w”
    Lungu would have suffered a heart attack during that meeting, period. Malema does not play, he would have run over the lethargic Jonathan Jameson like a good train. Besides, Lungu uleke kulimonesha ta! Just because people there fool you by calling you exellency, here you are nothing but a kambwanga chabe!

  12. Why does this man have to be so embarrassing? He is at a SADC conference and starts praying. Is he confused thinking he is in Church? Or maybe it’s a Bruce Lee move…

  13. Endorsement,recognition are nouns that have become a cliche’ Whether they apply is here nor there.We need a government that works and is up to its task.You are fighting for recognition and yet many development issues are lagging behind.It’s time to look forward and provide leadership in health,education and other sectors of life.What are you going to gain if you are recognized?We are tired of such attitude.You are there to guide the nation not to be recognized or endorsed.At the end of the day,your recognition or endorsement will not bring food on peoples’ tables.You need to draw a road map so that, whoever takes over from you, does not inherit a load of undeveloped issues.Where are you taking Zambia from now onwards?Not this nonsense of recognition and endorsement.

  14. We do not PF cadres to talk about credibility of 2016 Zambian elections results masquerading as SADC spokesperson. This Chanda should have told Zambians that Zambia has been sidelined to be SADC security chair on account of dictatorship by Edgar Lungu.
    Its agony for PF telling lies when news and truth is adduced from various sources.

  15. SADC guys dont know anything. They could be doing this just to please their friend. Otherwise, the election was not free and fair. One sided prosecutions, heavy police preventing opposition from campaigning etc. We are the ones who know the truth and the truth shall set us free.

  16. We would like to hear from SADC about this so called endosement not from Scaramucci Chanda! Ka Chanda ubufi ka chi.kala kaleke ai!

  17. VERY TRUE SADC AND THANK YOU, HOW CAN SOMEBODY CLAIM TO HAVE WON BY WINNING IN 3 OUT OF 10 PROVINCES. AND QUESTIONABLE WINS IN SOME AREAS OF THOSE 3 PROVINCES! DUNDUMWEZI? EVEN IN 2012 HH WILL LOSE BECAUSE HE COUNTS CHICKS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED!

  18. Mwe Bantu.Sadc just reiterating their official position. In 2016 Sadc endorsed the elections describing them as free and fair.General Khama who was Sadc Chair even attended the inauguration. So did Robert Mugabe as AU Chair. The Commonwealth, EU, Russia, and USA endorsed the Election s. President Edgar Lungu won the elections. The only problem our President has made is that of fighting too many battles. Causing disunity in his own party through his pre occupation with 2021. And putting trust in mediocre leaders at the expense of quality for fear of giving exposure to potential challengers.To him its 2021, and all about 2021. What happens between now and 2021 not important. Surely what govt policy can Kampamba Mulenga explain? Can this woman give an interview to BBC or CNN? Freedom…

  19. Ba Amos Chanda must just move on and leave HH weeping is his fellow tribesmen about 2016 elections.we voted for PF in masses and we are all happy with the results,so why talk about it today?
    Losers such as HH can cry tears of blood over 2016 elections but still nobody in the World shall change things as PF won it clean.next elections will be in 2021-period!!!
    SADC DECLARED 2016 ELECTIONS AS FREE AND FAIR RIGHT IN 2016,SO NO NEED TO REPEAT IT NOW!!!

    • HOW CAN YOU MOVE ON WHEN THE TRUTH IS HAUNTING YOU, AT LEAST WE HAVE ALL LEARNT THAT THERE IS NO PEACE IN RIGGING ESPECIALLY OF THE MIND.

  20. @Meimatungu, #15.6! In the name of “Justice and Democracy!” All the SADC leaders are fo..ls in your eyes? UPND will keep on changing goal posts no matter what is done! Kambwili was right before and it was not demons which were leading him!

    • UPND appears to be your preoccupation. Whatever it is they are doing, they are certainly keeping you on your toes.

  21. “Peer Review!” Academia when all you need is someone to bow out after his behind was kicked but he keeps making noise! Peer Review? Wow!

  22. The minister of information is the face of government. You need an effective communicator. One who understand s government operations and policy.Further you need a CEO for the party who is an organiser. Now you have Davies Mwila a former winder driver at KCM as your CEO of your Party. You have Frank Bwalya as Deputy Spokesman, then you also have Sunday Chanda who is also spokesman, and Kamba who is also spokesman. Then Freedom Sikazwe? HH and his UPND was a small problem. With an organised PF and a competent govt it could have been irrelevant this time. But the President still looking for endorsements.Bwafya.

  23. Zambia as a Country does not need fixing politically. It’s the Zambians, the people that need fixing. If the mind set of all of us changes, then we can move on and identify those issues that concern us collectively as a people. Our political system is shambles and we have the same political players that rebrand themselves. Yet we are here competing against each other. For what exactly? To see who speaks the loudest agains Lungu or HH? The people of Zambia are the only ones that can fix Zambia after fixing themselves, ourselves! Get off your high horses and put country first. Not Lungu or HH!!

  24. @Kaz, #30, You say, “Our political system is shambles!” No! UPND and its tribal insinuations is in shambles! Its agenda of planting chaos in Zambia will never hold!

  25. It’s like watching the total eclipse of the sun in progression – you dare not look at it with your naked eyes, else you risk getting your retina burnt.

  26. It looks to me that UPND and their supporters will continue mourning and disputing the 2016 electoral outcome until 2021. Why don’t they put the 2016 behind and start strategizing for 2021? By the time they wake from their slumber, it will be too late!

    • the problem is ba pompwe ba UPND tabalefwaya uku sumina... just accept the elections were credible as SADC has endorsed... mkala lilafye, 2021 comes back and Lungu hits you again... ifintu ni Lungu the problem is ba pompwe ba UPND tabalefwaya uku sumina... just accept the elections were credible as SADC has endorsed... mkala lilafye, 2021 comes back and Lungu hits you again... ifintu ni Lungu

      uli wamano

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  28. @ intelligence. Did you mean UPND is useless and should be disbanded or…….what. Me I feel it’s UPND which is what you have just said. Please move on.

  29. Fortunately UPND did not sent protesters to SADC but from Zambia emissaries were from the worried PF who nearly got earned themselves whipping from the other protesters.

  30. the problem is ba pompwe ba UPND tabalefwaya uku sumina... just accept the elections were credible as SADC has endorsed... mkala lilafye, 2021 comes back and Lungu hits you again... ifintu ni Lungu the problem is ba pompwe ba UPND tabalefwaya uku sumina... just accept the elections were credible as SADC has endorsed... mkala lilafye, 2021 comes back and Lungu hits you again... ifintu ni Lungu

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