EDITORIAL EMV:OPPOSITION UNITY, A FAR FETCHED UNDERTAKING

EDITORIAL EMV:OPPOSITION UNITY, A FAR FETCHED UNDERTAKING

Former President Edgar Lungu tried hard to bring the Opposition together.

He encouraged the Opposition to hold press conferences and raise common issues affecting the country.

This resulted in the formation of United Kwacha Alliance (UKA).

UKA Unity was immediately threatened by “founder’s syndrome”, the behavioral pattern where an organization’s founders maintain disproportionate power and influence as the entity grows, leading to bottlenecks, resistance to change, and stifled innovation.

UKA couldn’t grow rapidly and quickly because of this and attempts to make it a closed shop made the Alliance growth stall.

It was further plagued by state infiltration.

Other initiatives such as the “Zambia We Want fell” lost momentum when the organisation transformed into a political party.

Former President Lungu encouraged the formation of Tonse Alliance as a break-away from UKA.

Other than the Patriotic Front, the Alliance attracted smaller parties.

But this didn’t matter as they were relying on the back and countrywide presence of the Patriotic Front.

This succeeded when Tonse Alliance won its first seat, in the Petauke Central by-election.

But the prolonged absence of President Lungu in 2025 set stage for the confusion and hijack that gripped the Alliance.

Other initiatives such as the Opposition United Front and now People’s Pact Alliance have not attracted all Opposition leaders.

Recently, former founder of the MMD, Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika is pioneering and convening a semblance of Opposition Coalition.

Aka is convening a platform under Dr. Neo Simutanyi and his Centre for Policy Dialogue.

This process has received mixed feelings especially that it started as a Council of Elders, an advisory of the Patriotic Front, but morphed into a wider group of Elders to advise the Opposition and help them come up with a single candidate.

Many leaders of the Opposition have stayed away from the process and it is yet to be seen what will be achieved.

CWhat is becoming clear is that major candidates such as Fred Mmembe, Harry Kalaba,Brian Mundubile, Kelvin Fube Bwalya and others will be on the ballot despite the cry of Zambians for a united Opposition and such previous initiatives.