PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu says he wants to stay in office until 2026 to accomplish development initiatives that the ruling PF is implementing.

He told the people of Garneton in Kitwe, where he went to inspect road works on Tuesday, that the PF risked losing power in 2021 if the ruling party failed to fulfil the many promises made to the people prior to assuming power.

President Lungu told the crowd at a campaign-rally-like meeting that he did not want to lose power in 2021 because he wants to go all the way to 2026.

He said after 2026, he would go to rest and look back at his achievements with pride.

“We promised people a lot of things. And [if] we don’t deliver; we are out in 2021. Me, I don’t want to go back. I want to finish 2021, 2026 elo nkaye. So that naine nkaleshimika nati kwena twalibomba. (I want to look back with pride that we really worked),” President Lungu said.

The Head of State said he really would want to be looking back at the achievements the PF would have recorded since assuming office in “2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026.”

He said Zambians did not know what PF was capable of doing adding that that was why it took long for them to vote the party into power.

President Lungu said now Zambians had seen the transformation the country had undergone under the PF.

“This is the vision that president Michael Sata had when we formed PF in 2001,” he said.

President Lungu also urged party leaders not to think they were wiser than others simply because they were elected to lead.

He said being elected was just a privilege to lead from the top.

President Lungu told PF members to embrace everyone joining the ruling party saying “…we will not be restricted by race, tribe or gender in choosing the best leaders. Zambia is for all of us, no one owns the PF, what is important is to share the vision.”

The president took a go at his opponents urging PF members not to be like “other people that claim ownership of their parties because they joined earlier than others.”

A case in which PF aligned politicians have sought interpretation of whether President Lungu is eligible to stand for the presidency again is pending before court. However, according to the current constitution, a person who has held office twice is not eligible for the third time. President Lungu first held office in January 2015 to August 2016 and from 2016 running up to 2021.