By SAM PHIRI –

THE Zambian political playing field is undergoing change in readiness for a historic and heated two-horse August 11, general election battle under the new Constitution recently assented to.
At least, it is already clear which two political parties and presidential candidates will face each other in the final round, the incumbent Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) and Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND).
However, what remains unknown and deeply concealed in the confidentiality of the ballot is which one of the two hopefuls will be the last man standing.
With these facts lying bare, strategists of the aforementioned parties are working round-the-clock to find a way of getting an outright win of going over the 50 per cent plus one vote threshold in the very first round, thereby avoiding a re-run.
Despite being a top contending candidate, President Lungu has not forgotten his unwavering principal responsibility of Head of State and his crucial mandate of protecting the lives of all Zambians regardless of their political affiliation.
That is why he has taken a strong-minded stance against anyone who might be contemplating endangering people’s lives through the perpetuation of violent acts as a method of garnering votes.
That is why Mr Lungu recently directed the Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja to deal firmly with whoever was found perpetuating violence in the run-up to the August 11 general elections.
The Head of State says the law enforcers have no excuse of failing to carry out their mandate as Government has fully equipped them with adequate motor vehicles and motorbikes, among other articles, to make them more responsive to internal security.
President Lungu has an assurance for the Zambian people that as long as he remains in the highest office of the land and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he will never allow anarchy perpetuated by politicians to prevail in the country.
He has a clear idea of where the violent acts might emerge from, that’s why he makes a clear-cut warning:
“I have heard those feeling the pressure of an impending defeat already proposing violence as an option; that must not be allowed to happen and that will not occur under my watch!”
This timely warning from the Head of State comes in the wake of some opposition leaders planning activities that have the potential of breeding violence in an event that they lost the elections.
As the President puts it, going into a competition with only one expectation of victory is surely not a civilised way of going into a contest as it goes against the tenets of democracy that puts the power in the hands of the people and not the candidates.
“If you are willing to participate in a fair competition, you must be prepared to accept the outcome of that competition to avoid aftermath anarchy in the country,” he said.
The President has made it clear that all political parties with legal notices to hold any political gathering should not be distracted by law enforcers or anyone, all in an effort to avoid possible violence.
In this undertaking, the Presidential instruction is that no political party or individual politician should be favoured as every Zambian has a right to be protected as they express and exercise their democratic rights legally and peacefully.
It is clear that the President has for now put his political interests aside as he has turned to safeguard the rights and lives of the people of Zambia without fear or favour.
The assenting to the newly-amended Constitution is one other great milestone that the President and Government have undertaken to ensure that people’s voices are heard and respected.
It is commonplace that where leadership brushes people’s wishes aside for own personal interests, confusion and violence are high – a path President Lungu has chosen not to take by putting ink to paper.
Leading opposition party leader Mr Hichilema has a similar appeal on violence as he is calling on all Zambians to refrain from politically-driven violence.
He is calling on Government to provide a level-playing field before, during and after the elections (especially during the campaigns to avoid violence).
In his appeal, Mr Hichilema has directly accused the PF of mostly causing violence in most of the UPND camps and meetings.
However, chief Government spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili is as clear on the issue of violence as he recently denounced any form of violence irrespective of the drivers of chaos.
To lead by example and walking the talk, Mr Kambwili seriously warned members of the ruling PF to stay away from any form of violence as the long arm of the law was not going to favour anyone this time around.
He warned that all those who believe they would be protected after causing violence because they belong to the ruling party are treading on dangerous grounds.
“We are walking the talk and let me take this opportunity to warn all political parties, especially the PF members that if you engage in any form of violent activity, you will not be spared, you will be arrested,” he said.
The die is cast, the battle lines have clearly been drawn between the two aforementioned leaders with a cover of good news that both top contending leaders are warning people against violence.
What remains to be seen is whether the political cadres and other players will heed to this important call by President Lungu, the chief Government spokesperson and Mr Hichilema.