Press release
For immediate release

12/08/2021

The Silent Majority Have Spoken

Press release
For immediate release

08/12/2021

The Silent Majority Have Spoken

The long voting lines which have characterized this election of August 12, 2021, is a clear indication of what the former US president Richard Nixon once referred to as the silent majority. Throughout this campaign period, conducted under the covid19 restrictions, many people thought that voter apathy would be the order of the day come election time. There has been no substantive political activities country wide, in terms of traditional campgains and other forms of activities which usually takes place in a normal election. Nonetheless, elections has had to go on under the new normal and many people where skeptical of what the turnout would look like.

Notwithstanding, the people of Zambia have demonstrated that this election is very important to them. They have come out in huge numbers like never before for whatever reasons. This, we have to state here without fear or favor that; there is a strong correlation between the huge voter turnout and the mood for change in any election. Let’s us consider practical examples, in 1991 when Zambia moved away from a one party state to the introduction of multi-party democracy, our fathers and mothers showed up in numbers to do the right thing for the country. Therefore, the movement for multi-party democracy (MMD) swept that election with almost 75% victory. Also, in 2011 when Mr. Sata of the patriotic front (PF) won the election, the voter turnout was as usual in large numbers for which this country had never seen. Other examples includes but not limited to places such as the United States of America. In 2008 the US recorded a high voter turnout especially among young people who ushered in the presidency of Barrack Obama, simply because people had been frustrated with the 8 years of the Bush administration. Fast forward, when president Trump was so unpresidential for 4 years in his first and final term of office. The American people once again, casted their votes early through mailing ballots and showed up in unprecedented numbers on polling day to register their discontent with the Trump administration. Once again, the American voter expressed confidence in huge numbers for president Joe Biden as they elected him in 2020. All these examples show us that in most cases huge voter turnout can be a clear sign of the desire for change among the people regardless of how that change looks like to them.

So the question which is on the minds of the people of Zambia today is whether these huge lines or queues are an indication that most people want a change of government or not? What is the motivation of UNZA students standing in line as early as 02:00 hours just to cast a vote? In most parts of the country, it is reported that the old, and the young have been standing in queues for hours some as early as 04:00 hours just to wait for the polling station to open at 06:00 hours. If this is not a message from the silent majority, then I do not know what it is. Any serious student of politics would attest to the fact that this voter turnout is nothing but a silent revolution, a political uprising and a clear indication of people’s disapproval of this administration.

Aaron Ng’ambi

aaronngambi@yahoo.com