HH will accept defeat – Nalumango

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema will accept defeat and facilitate a smooth transition by willingly handing over power to whoever Zambians would vote for in the August 13 general elections, Vice-President Mutale Nalumango has said.

Ms Nalumango says President Hichilema would respect the country’s democratic process and would peacefully hand over power if he lost this year’s election.

Featuring on the Hot FM Hot Seat programme yesterday, Ms Nalumango, however said it was unlikely for President Hichilema to be defeated because he had demonstrated that he could be trusted for a second term of office to continue presiding over the affairs of the country.

“We are extremely confident that President Hakainde Hichilema will win the election. However, if he were to lose, he would peacefully hand over power.

That said, we do not believe he is going to lose. We also do not want anyone to manipulate the electoral process.

We believe Zambians are paying attention and do not want to return to where the country was before,” she said.

She has defended the UPND government’s performance, saying the Hichilema administration had inherited a struggling economy and has set the foundation for long-term economic growth, job creation and improved public services.

Ms Nalumango dismissed assertions that the UPND ferried people to boost attendance at its mega public rally in Lusaka on Saturday, claiming she was not aware of any such arrangements and challenged those making the claims to provide evidence.

Ms Nalumango said many Zambians were still struggling with the high cost of living but argued that the situation was inherited from the Patriotic Front administration.

“We found an economy that was growing negatively. President Hakainde Hichilema has worked on that.

We’re going to look after the people. We have worked to bring stability through debt restructuring.

Next we will be building on that. We will create more jobs, and the people we are sending to school for free will find jobs. This is a promise to the Zambians,” Ms Nalumango said.