⬆️ BUILD-UP: Tonse Alliance at Crossroads, Storm Coming
The Tonse Alliance is heading into uncharted waters. With the death of former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu in June, the coalition that had settled on him as its 2026 presidential flag bearer must now regroup and find a new leader. A notice signed by alliance coordinator Chris Zumani has called for a meeting of alliance leaders on September 30 to elect a new chairperson, settle on a presidential candidate, and endorse a political party vehicle to carry the alliance into next year’s polls.
But already, the cracks are showing. The Patriotic Front (PF), the largest member of the alliance, insists that the presidency is its birthright. Senior PF officials argue that since the party remains Zambia’s biggest opposition force, its leader must automatically be the alliance’s candidate.
“We are the backbone of Tonse. Whoever leads PF leads the alliance,” one senior PF figure said this week. The PF is pointing to Malawi’s recent election upset, where former president Peter Mutharika returned to power, as evidence that the regional tide of change is sweeping towards Lusaka.
Not everyone in the alliance is buying that script. Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP) leader Sean Tembo has consistently pushed back against PF dominance. He argues that Tonse was built to unite multiple voices, not to serve as a conveyor belt for one party. Tembo insists the presidential candidate must emerge through negotiation and consensus, not automatic inheritance. His defiance has irritated PF strategists, who see his stance as undermining unity at a time when the alliance faces its biggest test.
Beyond the power wrangles lies an uncomfortable truth. Lungu has not yet been buried. The PF, still in mourning and facing internal battles over succession, has told allies it will not elect a new party president until the late leader is laid to rest. That position complicates the Tonse meeting at the end of the month. Without clarity on PF’s own leadership, it is difficult to see how the alliance can credibly settle on a presidential candidate.
The PF’s delay has created space for suspicion. Smaller parties fear the PF is deliberately stalling, buying time to reorganize itself and impose its own leader on the alliance later. At the same time, PF officials privately admit they cannot afford another bruising leadership fight while the party is still nursing wounds from Lungu’s death. For them, forcing the issue before burial would be political sacrilege.
The timing is crucial. With elections less than a year away, the alliance must sharpen its message, build grassroots networks, and begin fundraising. A divided Tonse risks becoming irrelevant before the campaign even begins. If PF’s internal battles drag on, smaller parties may be tempted to look for alternative paths, potentially fracturing the coalition.
Still, PF officials sound bullish. They are telling supporters that the “Malawi wind of change” is blowing across the region, and Zambia will be next. They argue that voters are frustrated with the economy under UPND and ready to embrace change, just as Malawians have rejected President Lazarus Chakwera after one term. Whether this optimism is grounded in reality or wishful thinking remains to be seen.
For now, all eyes turn to September 30. That meeting could either cement the Tonse Alliance as a serious electoral machine or expose it as a fragile coalition held together by convenience. What happens in that room will shape the opposition’s fortunes in 2026, and determine whether the alliance emerges united behind a single candidate or collapses under the weight of its contradictions.
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