How does ‘Pe Lampi’ and ‘Salt Sana’ relate to the NRPUP and UPND manifestos?

Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation (ADEG) has […]

Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation (ADEG) has expressed concern that many political party leaders are spending more time making campaign promises outside their manifestos instead of explaining the commitments contained in their official policy documents.

Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, ADEG Executive Director, Gideon Musonda said political parties should consistently campaign using their manifestos because they are the formal agreements citizens can use to hold leaders accountable.

“The manifesto is a blueprint of what political parties stand for and what they are going to do because it is a formal document that citizens can use to hold them to account,” said Musonda.

He added that politicians should avoid introducing new promises during campaigns that are not reflected in their manifestos because this creates confusion among voters.

“Having more time to talk about things that are outside the manifesto is not helpful because you end up with uncoordinated messages and we urge political parties to remain consistent with what is contained in their manifestos,” said Musonda.

Meanwhile, he acknowledged that political campaigns naturally involve responding to issues raised by citizens and opponents but stressed that such responses should never replace the manifesto.

“It is a competition of ideas but what is key is that political players need to speak to their manifesto because that is where citizens expect to hear the solutions they have already committed themselves to,” said Musonda.

He told ZBT that many campaigns are increasingly dominated by attacks on political opponents instead of discussions on policies that directly affect citizens.

“Most manifestos are actually well thought out and contain good messages but the delivery has not met expectations because leaders spend more time reacting to opponents than explaining their own plans,” said Musonda.

Meanwhile, he said the growing trend of making fresh promises during rallies could also point to inadequate consultation with citizens before manifestos were written.

“Under normal circumstances the manifesto should come from engagements with the electorate because you first ask what people need and then build your commitments around those expectations,” said Musonda.

He illustrated that communities have different priorities, saying a constituency that wants industries revived may not be interested in promises focused on unrelated sectors.

“If people in an area are demanding that Mulungushi Textiles becomes fully operational again then your manifesto should already speak to that because those are the expectations of the citizens,” said Musonda.

Article by Phillip Sinkala