RESOLVE LEADERSHIP RECORDS TO STRENGTHEN TONSE ALLIANCE, KAUNDA URGES PF
Lusaka… Thursday September 11, 2025 – Socialist Party (SP) National Youth Chairperson Kelvin Kaunda has urged the Patriotic Front (PF) to resolve its leadership disputes in order to strengthen the Tonse Alliance.
Speaking on Crown TV in Lusaka, Mr. Kaunda said the Tonse Alliance constitution stipulates that the PF President automatically becomes the Alliance’s presidential candidate.
However, he explained that current records at the Registrar of Societies recognize Robert Chabinga as PF President, a situation that complicates the SP’s collaboration.
“This is something that we are managing very cautiously. If you are able to look at things from where we stand today, the only eligible presidential candidate under Tonse Alliance is Robert Chabinga. The Tonse Alliance constitution says the PF President shall be the presidential candidate for Alliance. And if you are to follow, forget about the manipulation around, we all know that the UPND has had a hand in the manipulation of the changing of the PF leadership. In terms of records, when you go to the Registrar of Societies today, the one who is being recognized as PF President is Chabinga yet we have the acting PF President on the other hand,” he said.
“If you had an opportunity to read the Tonse Alliance constitution, it clearly states that the leader of the PF shall automatically become the presidential candidate for the Tonse Alliance. But the question is, must we hasten the process of being part of an Alliance which is going to peach up a leader we do not agree with as a party? So there are a lot of issues that must be resolved.”
Mr. Kaunda said his party is not against any collaboration with other political parties but that there must be clear terms and conditions before any collaboration.
He stressed that the SP cannot support a leader it does not recognize, and therefore, PF must put its house in order before any meaningful coalition-building can take place.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kaunda cautioned the ruling UPND against celebrating victories in recent by-elections, noting that by-elections typically favor ruling parties.
He pointed out that the PF also won by-elections prior to the 2021 general elections, yet went on to lose the national vote.
Ba Kaunda you are just wasting time by talking about PF , just organize your party and contest elections. PF is basically not there to be talked about. PF wasted 4 years pushing Lungu to lead their dead party. There’s hardly time now to reorganize PF when they couldn’t do it during the past 4 years. There’s is hardly any chance now for PF to do anything. They are completely stranded.