2021 GENERAL ELECTION HAS PRODUCED A WEAK OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTY FORMATION IN AND OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT.
DESPITE ALL the Mental, emotional, phyiscal and pyschological torture, harassment and intimidation President HH went through in his political journey to Presidency, God favored him.
Since independence save for the Chiluba reign, his presidency has been blessed with little political hurdles and post election political competition within and outside parliament until after 2026.
Out of the 16 political parties that contested the 2021 General Election, only one party outside the former ruling party PF has one MP which was got by chance after the strongest contending party’s candidate in the area was technically knocked out of the electoral race at nomination stage.
PRESIDENT HH has the working majority in parliament, he won seats in all the provinces save for 2 Luapula and Muchinga, which makes nomination within the 8 easier to balance regional representation.
In addition, there is no serious opposition political party that has emerged out of this General election unlike at independence which had ANC to UNIP and UNIP to the ruling party then or in 2001, UPND to MMD or in 2006 PF to MMD or in 2011 and 2016, UPND to PF .
When UNIP won, ANC, third strongest party ahead of the indepedence election, became a threat to the newly ruling UNIP as the outgoing ruling party dominantly of the white minority headed into oblivion.
After the 2001 elections, UPND rose to prominence as a threat to MMD until the death of its founding president, Anderson Kambela Mazoka which relegated the party to the 3rd strongest party within and outside parliament.
After the 2006 elections, 3 political parties dominated the political and parliamentary space in Zambia namely MMD(ruling), PF (leading opposition) and UPND ( 3rd political force).
When MMD was defeated in 2011 elections, it was clear it was not going to rise again in the shortest near future as it was with the defeated colonial party and UNIP but the 3rd leading political force-UPND-assumed the role of a threat to the new ruling party-PF both in and outside parliament.
In 2016, PF almost lost power but saved by luck and in 2021 General Election, PF succumbed to electoral defeat to UPND after 15 years of fierce competition between the 2 parties as luck was not on PF’s side.
However, a political vacuum is eminent ahead of us as we head into the next electroal cycle starting August 2021 to August 2026, as the 2 political parties dominated the political and parliamentary space in Zambia ahead of the election.
This means that the electoral defeat of PF and the UPND electoral victory have left the political and parliamentary space with only one strong political player-the UPND-until after 2026.
This is so because the biggest opposition-the PF, the former ruling party-is headed and or sliding into political oblivion to join its political ancestors namely; white minority party, UNIP, MMD.
This means that there will be no serious opposition political party that has emerged out of this General Election in and outside parliament.
Therefore, to have a meaningful opposition in parliament will be after the 2026 General Election and any possible change is likely to be after 2031 General Election.
Therefore, the role of CSOs, Church, trade unions and media to provide effective checks and balances to the UPND administration and Government otherwise it will be self-checking.
Let us debate.
I submit
McDonald Chipenzi