UPND STRUCTURES WITHIN PARTY CONSTITUTION MANDATE, NO BREACH OF PARTY OR REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION – SIMUUWE
…As 60% Done With General Assembly Preparations.
The United Party for National Development (UPND) says it has completed about 60 percent of preparations towards holding its General Assembly (convention), with the National Management Committee (NMC) expected to determine the date of the gathering.
UPND Media Director Mark Simuuwe said the General Assembly could be held either before or after the 2026 general elections, depending on the guidance that will be provided by the party’s National Management Committee.
Speaking in an interview with journalists, Mr Simuuwe explained that the party has been focusing on mobilization and strengthening structures across the country, emphasizing that the UPND’s readiness is not dependent on the timing of national elections. He said the party’s internal processes remain fully within the provisions of both the party constitution and the Constitution of Zambia.
Mr Simuuwe noted that Article 60 (2) (d) of the Constitution provides for regular intra-party elections but does not prescribe a specific timeframe within which political parties must hold such elections.
“The General Assembly does not run concurrently with national general elections because political parties are established at different times and have their own constitutional timelines,” he said.
He explained that the UPND constitution requires the party to hold its General Assembly every five years, adding that different political parties adopt varying timelines for their conventions, with some holding them after three, five or seven years. Mr Simuuwe said preliminary activities for the General Assembly began in 2024, starting with lower party structures.
He explained that the electoral college of the party begins with polling station management committees, followed by ward, constituency, district and provincial structures. Mr Simuuwe added that President Hakainde Hichilema has been conducting a headcount of these grassroots structures as part of strengthening the party and ensuring proper representation ahead of the General Assembly.
He said once these processes are completed, the actual convention may only take one or two days, during which the electoral college, particularly provincial structures, will vote for the party president and members of the National Management Committee.
Mr Simuuwe further clarified that the party’s nomination of a presidential candidate ahead of national elections should not be confused with the party’s General Assembly. He also stated that the UPND has maintained a consistent record of holding legitimate conventions since the time of its founding president Anderson Kambela Mazoka.
He contrasted this with other political parties such as the Patriotic Front (PF), the Socialist Party and others, which he said have not held legitimate conventions within their internal structures.
Meanwhile, Mr Simuuwe disclosed that the party secretariat has taken a firm position to institute disciplinary action against any officials promoting a gun culture. He said the UPND has disowned incidents involving the brandishing of firearms and stressed that it is up to the Zambia Police Service to conduct a forensic investigation into the matter.
“The party does not condone such conduct and disciplinary action will be taken against any official found promoting violence,” Mr Simuuwe said.
TFN
Very good, do it and shame them, they thought it was not possible to do it. UPND is a very organized and disciplined party and convening a convention is not even an issue. A party which can manage to bring all the Councillors into Lusaka cannot fail to hold its own convention.