🇿🇲 BRIEFING | Chabinga Blocks Independent PF Adoptions
The battle for control of the Patriotic Front remains unresolved, with rival factions now openly clashing over who holds the legal and political authority to sponsor candidates ahead of the August 13 general elections.
Speaking during an interview on Diamond TV, Robert Chabinga insisted that his faction remains the legitimate leadership of the former ruling party and will not permit any adoption outside its alliance arrangement with the ruling United Party for National Development.
“We have already written to ECZ informing them that PF will not adopt candidates outside the alliance arrangement,” Chabinga said, adding that only himself and Secretary General Morgan Ng’ona are authorised signatories permitted to issue adoption certificates on behalf of the party.
The remarks signal a deepening political and legal crisis inside PF at a critical electoral moment, as presidential aspirants and parliamentary hopefuls prepare for nominations. Chabinga warned that any individuals filing nominations under the PF banner without endorsement from his faction would be acting “without authority.”
The latest development comes even as the rival faction aligned to Miles Sampa appeared to retreat from the presidential contest after initially floating former Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya as a possible candidate. That withdrawal has further complicated the opposition landscape, leaving questions over who exactly carries the PF brand into the election.
At the centre of the dispute is not merely leadership, but electoral survival. The PF remains one of Zambia’s largest opposition political structures despite years of fragmentation following its 2021 defeat. However, continued factional warfare risks weakening its traditional green-belt support base across parts of the northern corridor, where loyalty is increasingly being tested by defections, shifting alliances, and UPND inroads through recent by-elections.
Chabinga’s confirmation that his camp is politically aligned with President Hakainde Hichilema is also significant. It formalises what had long been suspected within opposition circles: that sections of PF have effectively chosen accommodation over confrontation, a development critics argue further blurs the distinction between opposition and ruling-party politics.
The result is growing confusion among PF supporters and aspiring candidates on the ground.
With nomination deadlines approaching, the Electoral Commission of Zambia may soon be forced to confront competing claims over adoption authority, party symbols, and candidate legitimacy.
For now, PF remains trapped in a battle between legal recognition, political relevance, and organisational control. What was once Zambia’s dominant governing machine is now fighting an internal war over ownership of its own identity.
Editor’s Note:
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