After opposition victory: Cabral Libii urges Cameroon to take democracy lessons from Zambia

A greater majority of Zambians are still buoyant following a historic presidential election which saw the replacement of now ex- President, Edgar Lungu.

Cameroonian politician and Member of Parliament for the PCRN party, Cabral Libii has praised Zambia’s political landscape for it’s beautiful demonstration of democratic principles throughout the pre and post electoral engagements.

Defeated president, Edgar Lungu made no attempt at holding tight to power like has been the case in several other African Nations, despite the fact that he questioned the results of the whole process.

From the elections, Cabral Libii drew out five lessons which he thinks can be applicable to Cameroon’s political landscape;

Firstly is that of perseverance. The winner of the elections, Hakainde Hichilema, 59 was at his sixth time of trying when he defeated Edgar Lungu in a landslide victory. The victory of Hakainde was also done during the first round of counting without needing a second round like is the case in most African states.

Cabral Libii lauded this as he noted that such victories are rare on the continent.

The victory, Cabral Libii notes, was not won by a thin margin like most others in Africa. It was won by a wide and untampered margin unlike any other.

Out of at least 7 million registered voters, 4.8 million casted their votes, and 2.8 million voted in favor of the winner, compared to 1.8 for Edgar Lungu, giving a met margin of 1 million votes.

The most important aspect of the elections yet as pointed out by Cabral, was neither the process nor the results, but the fact that the new President was quick to mend the relationship with outgoing president. The new president had been persecuted by the incumbent and imprisoned at least 15 times.

Finally, statically proven results as analysed by Cabral showed that the victory of Hakainde Hichilema was only made possible due to the massive participation of the youths in the electoral process.

He used the opportunity to call for a massive registration of Cameroonian youths into electoral lists. This, he said, is the only way to get the change that is much needed in Cameroon.

Mimi Mefo Info