Above Politics

Kenneth Kauda, the first president of independent Zambia, has endorsed the acting president and MMD candidate Rupiah Banda. Banda is running to fill out the remaining term of former president Levy Mwanawasa, who died this past summer. It is unfortunate that Kaunda has involved himself in the campaign in a partisan fashion.

Kaunda reigned over Zambia from 1964 until 1991, usually as the one man show of a one-party state. His personal philosophy of Humanism became the state's creed. He made every foreign policy decision, whether it was bucking frontline policy towards South Africa by engaging in negotiations or backing UNITA in Angola and ZAPU in Zimbabwe. In a sense, Kaunda was the state. At the very least, he is the father of the nation. Kaunda should stay of above current political squabbles and be the statesman and mediator that has marked his career. Great leaders don't come cheap and Kaunda needed to refrain from endorsing a candidate for president in order to maintain a role as an impartial father figure.

Kaunda's endorsement of Banda was implicit. His former party, UNIP, endorsed Banda for this election. UNIP is led by Kenneth Kaunda's son, Tilyenji Kaunda. There are conflicting reports as to the exact relation, but Banda is related to Kaunda's wife Betty. Also, Banda should win as there is much sympathy for the MMD in wake of Mwanawasa's death.

There was no need for Kaunda to lower himself to partisanship, but he took things one step further when he denounced the leading opposition candidate Michael Sata of the PF. He deemed Sata a capable governor and minister, but ill-suited for the presidency. Besides being an unnecessary attack, it is disingenuous. Doesn't Sata's experience as a capable government offical in high offices qualify him to be president? It is conceivable that it does not, but an illuminating explanation is required to prove that point. Kaunda has not acted like a statesman by endorsing a candidate, but has lowered himself further with his shots at Sata.

The election itself is dubious. I understand that it is probably intended to prevent a corrupt vice president from seizing office and to promote democracy. But if the candidate from the president's party is anything short of a demagogue, he will surely win thanks to sheer human sympathy. It also forces opposition parties to lie down in front of the ruling party or face near-certain defeat. It is particularly bad for Sata who is making another doomed attempt for the presidency. It begs the question of whether Sata is the head of a political party or a one-man coalition. This is where Kaunda could have argued for a smoother transition for the rise of a vice president after the death of a president, thereby implicitly supporting Banda while maintaining an aura of dignity.
(International Affairs Edition)