Mwanza warns UPND could face ‘chaos’ if it loses 2026 election
DPP leader Antonio Mwanza has warned that the UPND could face internal turmoil and follow the political path of UNIP, MMD and the PF if it loses next week’s general election.
Lusaka, 9 August – Mwanza said political fortunes could change rapidly, arguing that the ruling party’s current position should not be taken for granted as Zambia heads into the 2026 elections.
Speaking recently on News Diggers’ Mind Your Business podcast, Mwanza said the emergence of Brian Mundubile as a strong opposition contender showed how quickly political dynamics could shift.
He said the UPND had initially underestimated the opposition and was now facing a more competitive political environment than it had anticipated.
“You know the dynamics change. Nobody saw President Brian Mundubile coming with this force 90 days ago. The dynamics change and what might work in your favour today might not work in your favour tomorrow,” Mwanza said.
He argued that there was no guarantee that the political configuration currently seen between the ruling party and the opposition would survive the election.
Mwanza predicted that the election could trigger defections and realignments, with politicians moving between parties depending on the outcome.
“So after this election, there will be a re-configuration of all these alignments. After this election, there will be a lot of changes. Some people will move from where they are. There will be defections. There will be movements,” he said.
Mwanza further warned that a defeat for the UPND could trigger significant internal problems, potentially reducing the party’s influence in Zambian politics.
“If UPND loses these elections, there will be chaos in UPND as a political party. It will not be the one which will be the most powerful political party. If they lose, they will go the same route like UNIP, MMD and PF, unless they also learn from the mistakes of UNIP, MMD and PF,” he said.
He said political parties needed to remain open to learning from Zambia’s political history, particularly the experiences of parties that have previously dominated national politics before losing their influence.
Mwanza cited the experience of Anderson Mazoka, who left the MMD after political disagreements and went on to form the UPND in 1998.
He said Mazoka’s new party quickly emerged as a major political force, finishing second in the 2001 general election by a narrow margin.
Mwanza said the UPND itself later experienced turbulence following Mazoka’s death in 2006, including the loss of members of Parliament and changes in its position among Zambia’s major political parties.
“There are lessons to learn. That’s why these things, we need to be open to learning. We need to be open and you know these things require strategy,” he said.
On whether Mundubile could maintain his current opposition alliance beyond the 2026 election, Mwanza said it was possible, provided lessons were drawn from the history of previous political alliances.
He argued that one factor behind the durability of the UPND Alliance was the absence of competing presidential ambitions among most of its constituent parties.
“You have to look at one of the things that has made the UPND Alliance to stick together, it’s because the UPND Alliance only has one presidential aspirant. The rest don’t have presidential ambitions,” Mwanza said.
He added that the DPP was already preparing for the post-election political environment, regardless of which candidate wins the presidency.
Mwanza said the party intended to build structures between 2026 and 2031 and challenge whichever government emerged from the election.
“Immediately a President is sworn in, that President will face DPP from 2026 to 2031,” he said.
Mwanza also ruled out, for now, committing the DPP to any opposition alliance, saying the party had learned lessons from political coalitions in Zambia and elsewhere in the region
He said the DPP was engaging other opposition parties but wanted to retain its identity and political independence.
“Currently, we haven’t endorsed anyone, but we are having engagements with our fellow opposition political parties,” Mwanza said.
He said the DPP’s objective was to emerge as the main opposition force after the 2026 election and shift political debate towards policy issues rather than tribalism, insults and political hostility.
“We want to change the way politics are. We want to focus on policy. We want to focus on the things that affect the Zambian people,” he said.
Mwanza said the party wanted to avoid political divisions that, in his view, benefited politicians more than ordinary Zambians.
The 2026 election is therefore likely to reshape not only the balance between the ruling party and the opposition but also alliances, party structures and political loyalties across the country.
-Nkanionline 2026 #NewsOnDemand