Zambia's democratic journey progressing- FODEP

Forum for Democratic Process (FODEP) has said Zambia should cherish the
democratic tenets it has achieved in the last 31 years.

The Southern African country returned to multiparty democracy in 1991 after
17 years of one party state which limited people’s freedom to form and
belong to different political parties.

FODEP has also asked political players to be moderate in championing their
ideologies and be intolerant towards their opponents.

Micheal Bwalya, FODEP Northern province vice chairperson, said Zambia’s
democratic tenets were intact, especially after the change of Government as
electoral conflicts had been minimised.

“We are happy that electoral conflicts during the by-election which
previously used to be very tense has minimized to satisfactory levels in
the country,” Bwalya said.

In an interview on Wednesday that conflicts used to erupt a lot in previous
years but now few queries are being reported during and after the
by-election which should be maintained.

Bwalya said for democracy to flourish, there was need for stakeholders in
the democratic process to be mindful of doing things that can lead to the
country losing the gains it had scored.

He added that politicians had the duty to promote democracy by being
tolerant to divergent views because that was what democracy entails.

“Politicians should be tolerant to each one’s view if we are to preserve
the gains we have made over years ,being intolerant does not help in
shaping our society ,” Bwalya said.

He said Zambia was known regionally and internationally as a beacon of
peace, adding that political players had a big role to play in concreting
the country’s regional and international standing.

Bwalya said there was a need for concerted efforts in creating an enabling
environment for democracy to flourish.

He said continuous voter registration should continue in the coming year so
that youths get voters’ cards to participate in the elections in 2026 and
beyond.