When the founding Father of
the Patriotic Front, Micheal Sata died in November 2014, the Party needed to
find an immediate replacement.
The person who was going to
replace Michael Sata, was poised to represent the PF in the emergency elections which were held on January 20, 2015.
The January 20, 2015 Presidential elections were sparked by a
clause in the 1996 Amended Constitution that required the country to hold
elections ,within 3 months after the death of an incumbent .
This meant that the Patriotic
Front only had 3 months in which to find a Presidential candidate to contest
the 2015 elections.
And the person who appeared
close to that task, was the then acting President Edgar Lungu.
As acting President, Edgar
Lungu officiated at Zambia's Jubilee Celebrations which were held at Heroes
Stadium.
This was Edgar Lungu’s major
public appearance as Acting President.
And when he appeared to the crowd,
clad in a green Chitenge wrapper, hanging on his left shoulder, with a wooden
walking stick dangling in his hands, people screamed with excitement.
The screams and cheers from
the crowd, perhaps made it apparent that the people loved the man, and imaginably
needed him to be President.
It was at that event where Lungu was coined as the Jubilee President.
But even as acting President,
Edgar Lungu was to be subjected to an in house Presidential selection Process
within the PF.
But before the process could
even start, Edgar Lungu was forced to hand over Power as acting President to the
then Vice President Guy Scott in unclear circumstances.
This signaled rough waters
ahead of Lungu’s pursuit to steer the Patriotic Front as President.
From that point on-wards, the
Jubilee man faced grueling opposition from within the PF.
A faction that emerged from
the PF appeared to block Edgar who was also Defence and Justice Minister from
becoming PF President.
During the same period, Edgar
who also carried the title of PF Secretary General, was fired from that
position, but was later reinstated the next day.
After weeks of ducking well
calculated maneuvers to block him from heading the PF, Edgar emerged victorious
after he was elected PF President, at the Mulungushi Rock of Authority during a
PF Convention.
Most part of the 3 months
that the PF had to campaign, was wasted in dealing with internal wrangles.
But with just less than 30
days to campaign Edgar Lungu took charge of the PF boat and contested the
January 20, 2015 elections.
He won that election by a
simple majority, beating his closet rival Hakainde Hichilema by just less than
2 percent.
During his inauguration on
January 25, 2015, the Lawyer President immediately set the tone by immediately appointing Dr. Ngosa
Simbyakula as Justice Minister.
Lungu tasked the renowned
Lawyer Simbyakula, with the responsibility to spearhead the adoption of the 2016
Amended Constitution .
Though short, Edgar Lungu’s
tenure in Office was to become one of the MOST challenging in Zambia’s
Political history.
As President, Lungu was
challenged with a daunting task to find solutions to the country’s worst ever
Power deficit that led to the infamous load shedding.
Households were usually load
shed for over 8 hours. And Lungu was fully aware of these challenges .
This energy crisis led
President Lungu to enter into emergency negotiations, with neighboring
Mozambique for them to export electricity to Zambia.
It is also important to note
that at that time, the entire Southern Africa Region was facing adverse Power
deficits .Only Mozambique had enough Electricity .
But despite demand for electricity from other African countries who wanted to import the commodity
from Mozambique, President Lungu managed to secure a deal that saw Mozambique export up to 148 Megawatts (MW) of electricity
to Zambia.
That deal plus the
commissioning of other energy facilities such as the 150 megawatts thermal
fired Mamba Collieries Plant, reduced load shedding hours from 8 to 4 hours a
day.
And that is not the only
challenge Lungu had to deal with, during his tenure, thousands of Jobs
were lost in various Mines across the country. The Job situation in the Mines had a huge potential to
cost him his Job as President.
With Elections just around
the corner, the Job situation in Mines mostly on the Copper belt ,paused a huge
risk to the PF who have historically enjoyed support from the Province.
Thousands of Jobs were lost,
and the mines blamed the situation on the high cost of production coupled with
plummeting copper prices on the international market.
Elections were around the
corner, the Opposition was capitalizing on the Job losses, the PF was slowly
losing grip on the Province, and something had to be done to salvage the
situation.
The President directed that
the miners be given land and be equipped with agriculture skills that would enable
them to venture into farming in order to fend for themselves and their families.
The decision by the President
saw the miners soften up a little.
But despite these many
challenges, time was ticking for President Edgar Lungu to deliver on the
Promises that he made during the 2015 campaigns.
One of those Promises that
seemed a little ambitious and somewhat like mere rhetoric was the delivery of
an amended Constitution to the People of Zambia.
This could be because Lungu’s
Predecessors also made the same promises and never delivered on them.
But only time would tell
whether the constitution talk would one day come to fruition.
But true to his promises made
during the 2015 campaigns, the man who has become to be known as Mr. Walk the talk among his peers delivered the 2016 Amended Constitution to the Zambian
People on January 5, 2016, just about 4 months before the commencement of the
August 11 General Elections campaigns.
The assenting to the Amended
Constitution was however not going to be all rosy.
The Constitution has law provisions that
required the country to subject itself to things that had not been done before
in Zambia.
Some of these law provisions even
affected the President himself and those around him.
When Parliament was
dissolved, the President was of the opinion that Ministers needed to remain in
Office.
But after a petition to the ConCourt over the matter by Opposition
Political Parties, the newly established Constitutional Court ruled otherwise.
And the President welcomed
the development despite his initial opinion on the matter.
The President is on recording
of saying the Courts decision was final regardless of him holding a different
opinion earlier .
The much anticipated
Elections were held on August 11, 2016.
The Election results which were
expected to be announced within 48 hours, delayed to come in due to a tedious
verification process.
However ,after 4 days, on
Monday 15 August, Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Chairperson Justice Esau
Chulu who was the Presidential Returning Officer announced the Presidential
election results.
Lungu who was declared winner
of the elections was according to the Amended Constitution supposed to be sworn
in a week after the announcement of the Official Election results.
But the President Could NOT
be sworn in within the stipulated time because his election was petitioned in
the Constitutional Court by the UPND President Hakainde Hichilema and his
running mate Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba on grounds of alleged electoral
irregularities .
The Amended Constitution
stipulates that a Presidential Election petition should heard within 14
calendar days.
.
After 14 days, the Courts
threw out that petition on grounds time in which to hear it had elapsed.
As a result of that ruling
Edgar Lungu managed to drive through the many barriers that were trying to
block him from been inaugurated as President.
At exactly 10:35am the
President’s motorcade which comprised BMW elite police motorbikes flashing
blue beacons drove inside the 60,000 capacity National Heroes Stadium to a roaring crowd .
The President elegantly
protruded on top of a Black Toyota Land Cruiser VX, through its sun roof.
The Jubilee man was also seen flashing a clinched fist at the multitudes of people who gathered to witness
his inauguration.
A few minutes later after
driving round the stadiums' running track, President Edgar Lungu who was smartly
clad in his signature blue suit and a red tie, took Oath of Office before Chief
Justice Irene Mambilima.
After been sworn in, President
Lungu stepped into the Presidential dais to receive a Presidential salute. He
later inspected a guard of honor mounted by the Zambia Army second
battalion.
3 Fighter Jets also flew past
the stadium emitting smoke with Zambian Colors.
The event which was also
punctuated by well-choreographed military drills displayed by officers from
security wings, was also witnessed by Botswana’s President Seretse Khama Ian Khama
and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe plus many other Officials from other African countries.
Various Opposition Political
Parties also attended the event . And for Zambia’s only female contestant in the
August 11 General Elections, Edith Nawakwi the inauguration of President Lungu meant
time to move on.
In an interview with this
writer Nawakwi noted that Zambia is bigger than any one; as such energies
should now be channeled towards National Development.
And National Restoration
Party (NAREP) President Elias Chipimo who was sitting next to Nawakwi asked the
Head of State to accommodate everyone in the running of his government.
Mr. Chipimo called on the
President to be magnanimous enough and accommodate even those from the
opposition.
And in his inaugural speech
which he begun by greeting the people at
the stadium in Zambia’s 7 major local languages, Zambia's 6th President hinted that he wants to run a green
orientated Government which will lead to the production of enough food for the
country and the region.
The President announced that
it is now a prerequisite for all senior government officials including
Directors in government departments, to engage in any Agro related activities.
Lungu promised that he and
his state house staff will lead the cause by example.
On Pre and Post electoral
violence, Lungu indicated in his speech that he will constitute a commission of
inquiry to examine factors that led to Pre and Post-election violence.
The President said the findings will be used as a lesson and reference in dealing with similar future occurrences.
And Chief Mumena of the Kaonde
people in North Western Province, noted that a Commission of inquiry was necessary and
timely.
Meanwhile other Traditional
leaders namely King Mwata Yamvo of the Lunda people and Paramount Chief Mpezeni
of the Ngoni people, appealed to the
President to prioritize the Promotion of Peace and Unity in the country.
Meanwhile Former Acting Chief
Justice who is also President of the COMESA Court of Justice ,Lombe
Chibesakunda called for the sharpening and refining of some problematic parts
contained in the Constitution.
Justice Chibesakunda stated
that the constitution was not a permanent document as such it needed to be re-looked at and sharpened.
President Edgar Lungu who has
been coined as Mr. Walk the talk now has 5 years to walk the Zambian people to
the realization of his promises.
One such promise is the
consideration of nuclear energy as an
alternative source of energy .
The President indicated that exploration works have already started in the Northern parts of Zambia
The President indicated that exploration works have already started in the Northern parts of Zambia
The President however
emphasized that the responsibility to develop Zambia should be in individual efforts
from all Zambians.
