Patriotic Front acting president Given Lubinda has announced the launch of the PF Pamodzi Alliance, signalling a political shift away from the Tonse Alliance structure associated with Brian Mundubile.
Lubinda made the declaration after meetings held by PF leadership structures over the weekend. Addressing supporters, he said the party’s Council of Leaders and Central Committee had directed that a new alliance platform be presented to the public following internal consultations on the party’s political direction.
He told the gathering that the decision followed deliberations held on Sunday and Monday, during which the leadership resolved that the alliance structure linked to Tonse would no longer represent the direction being taken by PF and its partners.
Lubinda said he had been instructed to communicate the decision publicly and make clear that the political formation being introduced would now operate under the banner PF Pamodzi Alliance.
Standing before supporters and representatives of several organisations aligned with the opposition bloc, Lubinda described the alliance as a broad coalition bringing together political parties, civic groups and grassroots supporters.
The PF acting president acknowledged members of what he called the Green Ghosts, political parties working with the coalition and civil society organisations associated with the alliance platform. He said the groups had been involved in discussions that led to the decision to launch the new alliance structure.
Lubinda told supporters that the announcement marked a clear transition away from the Tonse Alliance framework that had previously been associated with opposition cooperation. His remarks placed the new alliance as the political vehicle through which the coalition intends to mobilise ahead of the 13 August general election.
He said the leadership had taken the position that the alliance required a structure capable of bringing together different political actors under a single banner while maintaining coordination among the participating organisations.
The launch of the PF Pamodzi Alliance was presented as the outcome of those discussions.
Lubinda formally introduced the coalition under the new name during the gathering, declaring it the platform under which the alliance would now organise its political activities.
The PF acting president said the alliance would mobilise supporters across the country as preparations for the election intensify, with the coalition bringing together political parties, civic organisations and grassroots supporters aligned with the bloc.
His announcement marked the first public presentation of the PF Pamodzi Alliance, positioning it as the structure through which the coalition intends to coordinate its activities moving toward the national polls.