THE MONEY CAPTURE OF ELECTIONS
By Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party
The escalating influx of dark money and state-backed intimidation in Zambian politics has completely compromised our democratic architecture. Today, we are witnessing a tragic reality where elections are no longer a contest of ideas, but a marketplace where the wealthy buy compliance and target the politically and morally weak souls who lack the financial and logistical armour to withstand systemic pressure.
When a political system allows money to dictate who stands and who falls, it actively weeds out those with genuine revolutionary conviction, leaving behind a field open only to the highest bidder. This commercialisation creates an environment where vulnerable candidates become commodities, easily swayed, bought out, or pressured into submission by the ruling money machinery.
Look no further than the utter sham that has unfolded in the Mandevu parliamentary by-election. In a single day, all three opposition and independent contenders simultaneously withdrew from the race. This highly orchestrated technical knockout has allowed the ruling UPND candidate to cruise into parliament unopposed without a single citizen in Mandevu casting a ballot.
Whether driven by severe logistical starvation, deep-pocketed financial inducements, or the threats of violence that force candidates to choose between their safety and the ballot, this synchronised collapse is a severe indictment of our electoral integrity. It proves that the ruling tandem has successfully weaponised state power and capital to force ‘walkovers,’ robbing over 100,000 registered voters in Mandevu of their constitutional right to choose.
The Socialist Party firmly asserts that this is not democracy; this is an auction. Corrupt politicians use millions of Kwacha to buy influence, and once in power, they use state policies to benefit foreign mining giants and wealthy ‘well-wishers’ – of course for a direct personal benefit – rather than the masses.
Our mission is simple: The Socialist Party will take money out of politics and put it back into your pockets.
We will strip away the multi-million Kwacha campaign machinery fueled by corrupt corporate interests. By ending the state capture that allows politicians to enrich themselves, we will redirect national resources directly to the people.
Under our 2026–2031 Manifesto, putting money back into your pocket means:
• Lowering the Cost of Living: Structurally reducing the price of a 25kg bag of mealie meal to K180 and completely removing taxes on basic essentials like cooking oil.
• Mass Job Creation: Generating over 500,000 decent-paying jobs for our youth across agriculture, value-addition mining, and low-cost housing construction
• True Agricultural Support: Eliminating the corrupt, delayed input systems and providing affordable, timely fertiliser and seeds directly to peasant farmers so they reap the value of their hard work.
• Guaranteed Social Services: Funding free quality healthcare and universal education so that a family’s hard-earned money stays in their pockets instead of being drained by basic survival.
We call upon the Electoral Commission of Zambia to stop facilitating these fraudulent farces. We urge working-class Zambians to see these corporate manipulations for what they are. Do not let them buy your democracy. Stand resolute with the Socialist Party to end the politics of the highest bidder and reclaim the wealth of our nation for the people who build it.