ALLIANCES & ELECTION VICTORY: M’membe Says There’s No Guarantee UKA Will Win 2026 Polls

ALLIANCES & ELECTION VICTORY: M’membe Says There’s No Guarantee UKA Will Win 2026 Polls

An opposition alliance, in itself or by itself, does not guarantee electoral victory, President of the Socialist Party, Fred M’membe has advised Zambia’s opposition political parties that have recently congregated for 2026.

In a post on his party’s Facebook page addressing what he calls insinuations from “our opposition colleagues who have congregated in UKA to start treating us as if we are their enemies”, M’membe has cautioned members of the newly formed United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) against treating the Socialist Party as an enemy and throwing all sorts of insinuations against the party for not joining the alliance.

“Let us not deceive ourselves or allow ourselves to be deceived that an opposition alliance, in itself or by itself, guarantees us electoral victory. Yes, if well-conceived and organised, it will certainly increase our chances of electoral victory, but it doesn’t guarantee us victory in itself or by itself,” he stated.

Going back into history, M’membe recounted that alliances of the past have not delivered electoral victory to their members.

“The UDA alliance of 2006, involving UPND, FDD, UNIP, and others, failed to defeat MMD. PF, which was not part of UDA, actually performed better. The UDA partners went into the 2006 elections with a total of 74 parliamentary seats (UPND 49, FDD 13, and UNIP 12) obtained from 2001 elections.”

He continued: “PF went into that election with 2 parliamentary seats (one from the 2001 elections and the other from a by-election). PF came out of the 2006 elections with 43 parliamentary seats and UDA with a total of 26. Michael Sata , the PF presidential candidate, came second, beating the UDA presidential candidate into third position.”

M’membe reminded the alliance that in 2011, the current governing party, UPND, went into an alliance with the Patriotic Front (PF), which broke before the polls and the then PF president, Michael Sata, went on to form government.

The Socialist Party leader further stated that his party has privately and publicly explained its reasons for not joining the alliance, described as the party’s processes for deciding to join an alliance.

“Whereas our colleagues can decide to take their parties in an alliance without the express consent of their members in a Congress or Convention resolution, we have to seek such authority,” he said.

He went on to allude to and denounce the “unscrupulous… scheming, maneuvering, and insinuations” against his party by the UKA.

“Most importantly, we are very much aware of the schemings and manoeuvring going on in this alliance, which we wouldn’t like to subject ourselves to for now. There are many weaknesses in this whole project that shouldn’t be turned into virtues… There is no reason to be unscrupulous about anything if your intentions are noble,” M’membe stated.