Zambia's campaign season kicks off ahead of August polls

Zambia’s ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party on Saturday launched its campaign ahead the August 11 presidential poll.

Scores of party faithful thronged the National Stadium in the capital Lusaka for the campaign launch which also doubled as the launch of the ruling party’s manifesto.

#Zambia Presidential elections will be held on 11/08/16. Campaign period took off yesterday pic.twitter.com/unfWPS5Dzs

— Tchiyiwe T Chihana (@AfriWoman) May 17, 2016

President Edgar Lungu who is seeking another term in office told the supporters he would not change his running mate for the polls.

“Without the avoidance of doubt, my running mate is Inonge Mutukwa Wina” he told the crowd.

“No football coach will want to substitute a winning player, the player who has achieved the result, the player who plays according to instructions of the coach. He is supposed to be in the field,” the president added.

“As you have seen, the launch is quite a powerful launch and this is just a sign to our colleagues in the opposition, that watch out. That come 11th August, its whitewash,” said Dennis Chanda Chipowe, a Patriotic Front supporter.

He added that the party’s “youths have been urged from the advise that our president has given us, that is, no violence and totally no violence. That is why you’re even seeing all these people are moving peacefully”.

Another supporter Sheila Muleya described the massive turnout at the stadium as “70 plus one”.

“They wanted 50 plus one but this is 70 plus one. Majority of the Zambian people are with Edgar Chagwa Lungu meaning that they are behind him. Its not easy for this ground to be filled. This is why I want to urge all opposition leaders to come and fill this ground to feel the impact” Sheila said.

Meanwhile, the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) led by Hakainde Hichilema also launched their campaign at the iconic Freedom Park in the Copperbelt city of Kitwe, reports the Zambianonline.

TODAY: #UPND2016 Campaign Launch. #FreedomPark #Kitwe #Zambia 21.5.16 pic.twitter.com/ZznRYhECf4

— UPND (@UPND2016) May 21, 2016

The struggling economy is expected to feature prominently in the campaign due to the relative instability of the country’s currency, the kwacha , which was ranked the world’s third-worst performing currency at the end of 2015.

AFP/ News Agencies