DIRECT VOTER ENGAGEMENT MORE IMPORTANT THAN RALLIES – NALUMANGO
Vice President Mutale Nalumango says the UPND is deliberately focusing on engaging individual voters and families rather than rushing to hold massive campaign rallies ahead of the August general elections.
Speaking on ZNBC on Sunday night, Nalumango said many people had questioned why President Hakainde Hichilema had not yet embarked on large-scale political rallies across the country.
However, she explained that the ruling party had adopted a strategy centred on direct engagement with citizens at community level.
Nalumango, who is also President Hichilema’s running mate, said the UPND believes meaningful campaigns begin with reaching people in their homes, compounds and communities, where the impact of government policies is felt most directly.
She said while rallies remain an important component of political campaigns, they should not be viewed as the only measure of political activity or public support.
“Rallies are important, but to me, campaign is reaching out to the individual person, speaking to them and being able to deliver your message,” Nalumango said.
The Vice President noted that President Hichilema has continued travelling across the country, meeting various groups of people and listening to their concerns rather than concentrating solely on large public gatherings.
She said the party’s priority is to connect with ordinary citizens and families, whom she described as the foundation of electoral success.
“Our concern is the individual person and the individual family. That is happening in the compounds. That is happening wherever people are,” she said.
Nalumango also dismissed suggestions that the UPND had become complacent because of its record in government.
She stressed that the party remained fully aware that elections are competitive and that all participating political parties are working hard to secure victory.
She added that many of President Hichilema’s recent meetings have focused on party organisation and strategy with parliamentary candidates, local government aspirants and party officials as the campaign period intensifies.
