Elections: Why Brian Mundubile Must Forget About Kalaba, Zulu And Others

Elections: Why Brian Mundubile Must Forget About Kalaba, Zulu And Others

………KBF has one advantage of he joined Mundubile, his political party is making inroads into Southern Province, the stronghold of the governing UPND………

Under 100 days before Zambia elects a new President or re-elects President Hakainde Hichilema, one of the presidential hopefuls, Brian Mundubile of the TONSE Alliance has invited other opposition leaders such as Harry Kalaba, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, Makebi Zulu to join his alliance to forge a formidable opposition to the governing party, the UPND.

Yes, a united front is better than a divided force. However, under what capacity should the invitees join the TONSE Alliance? The question needs to be addressed with objectivity because those being invited have already expressed interest to contest the 13th August general elections. They have paid a K100,000 nomination fees. Let’s look at Harry Kalaba, his Citizens First party has mobilized support across the country and the orange party has formed an Orange Alliance with other political parties such as the NDC leader by Saboi Imboela. At this point, political parties with considerably size of following (supporters) are likely not willing to join any alliance at the moment.

For instance, Mundubile, Kalaba, Fube are originating from the same region. This on itself kills off the idea of having a presidential candidate and his running mate from one region. Also, between Mundubile and Kalaba, the former Foreign Affairs minister has more experience than Mundubile in terms of contesting the presidential race. During the 2021 elections, he came third behind late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu of the Patriotic Front. Can Kalaba agree to be running mate to Mundubile?

Mundubile and Makebi Zulu is a probable because the two are from two different regions, Luapula and eastern. But between Zulu and Mundubile, the Mporokoso MP seems to have attracted more support from MPs, councilors, former government officials than Zulu but can the Lungu family Spokesman agree to be running mate to Mundubile? The same can be said about KBF, however, KBF has one advantage if he joined the TONSE Alliance, his political party is making inroads into Southern Province, the stronghold of the governing UPND. But he has not attracted big names to his house as compared to Mundubile.

In conclusion, what Mundubile is suggesting is only a visible attempt when no single presidential candidate fails to amass the required 50 percent plus 1 votes. At the moment, the TONSE Alliance and its alliance partners must be open to the reality of facing their fellow opposition and the UPND administration because those invited to join the alliance may not agree to take the back seat.

The Speech Analyst

06.05.2026