Running elections is too expensive for Socialist Party, says M’membe
Socialist Party president Dr Fred M’membe says the high cost of contesting elections has become one of the biggest obstacles facing smaller political parties, arguing that money now plays a decisive role in determining electoral outcomes.
Lusaka, 1 August – Speaking during an interview on South Africa’s *The Red Mic* podcast on Thursday, Dr M’membe said the Socialist Party lacks the financial resources needed to compete with larger political parties, describing elections as increasingly expensive and heavily influenced by wealth.
He said Zambia’s vast geographical size, poor road infrastructure and dispersed rural communities make campaigning costly, requiring significant spending on transport, fuel, campaign materials and logistics.
“Running an election requires huge amounts of money which a small, poor Socialist Party like ours does not have,” Dr M’membe said.
He argued that while his party channels its limited resources into community development, some political players spend heavily on campaigns and vote-buying to secure electoral victories.
“The popularity that we may enjoy is organic; it is not engineered,” he said. “Others spend money to buy votes, but we spend it on the people and ask them to vote for us.”
Despite the financial challenges, Dr M’membe said the party remains committed to improving the lives of ordinary Zambians, insisting that serving people takes precedence over ideology.
He said the Socialist Party had invested in education, healthcare and agriculture even while outside government, claiming it had helped train more than 5,000 previously illiterate men and women, over 30 medical doctors, several nurses and graduates in economic policy management over the past five to six years.
“The most important thing for us is not even our ideology; the most important thing is people,” he said. “Our ideology is simply a tool to help improve people’s lives.”
Dr M’membe also expressed concern over what he described as Zambia’s diminishing economic sovereignty, arguing that foreign-owned corporations dominate key sectors of the economy.
He claimed that foreign investors, including companies from Europe, the United States and China, control much of Zambia’s economy, while local ownership remains limited.
According to Dr M’membe, only about two percent of assets in Zambia’s banking sector are entirely Zambian-owned, while Zambians own only a small share of the wider financial sector.
He said meaningful political independence could only be achieved if Zambia regained control of its economy.
“If you don’t control your economy, what country are you running?” Dr M’membe asked, arguing that economic independence is essential for governments to make decisions that genuinely serve the interests of their citizens.
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