We Won’t Choose Our Party President Until Edgar Lungu Is Buried!! If It Means Us Not Participating In The 2026 General Elections So Be It!!!- Raphael Nakachinda

PATRIOTIC FRONT PUTS SUCCESSION AMBITIONS ON HOLD AS PARTY MOURNS LUNGU

By Brian Matambo, Lusaka – Zambia

The Patriotic Front (PF), Zambia’s largest opposition party, has sought to project unity and discipline as it navigates both a period of national mourning and an uncertain political future. At a press briefing held Monday at the PF Secretariat, Secretary General Raphael Nakachinda urged party members to suspend presidential ambitions and refrain from early endorsements, warning that indiscipline at such a delicate time would weaken the movement.

The somber backdrop was the passing of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the PF’s leader and Zambia’s sixth Republican President. “As a party, we stand fully behind the family of our late President, and we support them in ensuring he is accorded a befitting funeral,” Nakachinda said. Yet, even as the PF adjusts to life without its towering figure, the party is moving to address its own succession process.

INTERNAL ELECTIONS AND A BAN ON ENDORSEMENTS
Nakachinda announced that grassroots elections will begin immediately at the ward and constituency levels, with party structures expanded from 24 to 72 committee members to strengthen local participation. Provincial elections will follow in the coming weeks, and a General Conference to elect the PF’s next president is expected “soon,” with the Central Committee set to decide the exact timing in September.

Until then, endorsements of presidential hopefuls are strictly forbidden. “If you have a preferred candidate, discuss that in your home,” Nakachinda told members. “When we open up campaigns, you will be free to support openly. For now, any endorsements are banned.” The move is widely seen as an attempt to rein in factions that have already begun maneuvering for influence.

A WARNING TO OTHER OPPOSITION PARTIES
Nakachinda also directed a message to fellow opposition parties, some of whose leaders have weighed in on PF’s succession process. “We will handle our issues internally,” he said, cautioning that interference could prove counterproductive. He argued that the PF’s strength was critical not only to its own survival but to the viability of opposition politics more broadly. “If PF goes down, the hopes of the entire opposition go down with it,” he declared.

BROADER CONTEXT
The PF, ousted from power in 2021 after a decade in office, has endured turbulence but remains the single largest and most organized opposition force in Zambia. Lungu’s death has sharpened the urgency of leadership renewal, yet it has also reaffirmed the party’s role as the custodian of millions of Zambians’ hopes.

Rather than fragmenting, the party’s decision to enforce discipline and orderly succession is being cast as proof of its resilience. For supporters, the message is clear: the PF is not only capable of surviving this transition, but of emerging stronger. Many within the movement believe that unity in this moment of mourning will give way to renewed momentum, positioning the PF as the most credible vehicle to redeem Zambia in 2026 and beyond.