Unending calls for the opposition to bundle together and remove HH!

By Revelation Editor

There have been unending, almost incessant calls for the opposition parties in the country to come together and remove President Hakainde Hichilema the UPND government from public office.

There have been particular calls made to esp people like Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba and Socialist Party (SP) leader Fred M’membe, among others, to relinquish their presidential aspirations for 2026 by joining hands with Tonse/Pamodzi alliance led by Brian Mundubile and his running-mate Makebi Zulu.

We are aware that apart from public calls, there have been private calls involving the leaders of the opposition to join forces and rid the country of the Hichilema administration.

However, from the look of things, it is pretty clear that those calls have gone unheeded, as Kalaba and M’membe have given their own arguments as to why they can’t join forces with Mundubile and Zulu. In the case of Kalaba, the CF leader has argued that he cannot be asked to join ranks with others when Zambians have not even been given the opportunity to hear about the competing programmes the various parties are offering them, something he said should actually form the basis upon which people must make their electoral decisions. He has even gone further to challenge his fellow competitors to a televised national debate, saying he will have no problems joining hands with Hichilema, or anyone in the opposition that would be able to convince him that their programme for Zambians is superior than that of his party and his Orange Alliance. We are just not sure how he would be able to measure up to accepting another programme that is superior than something he’s been working towards over the many years he formed his CF.

Kalaba argues that contestants must be judged on the substance of their character, transparency, accountability and how workable their programmes were for Zambians.

As for M’membe, his argument is that elections are not just a matter of changing governments, saying what matters also is the character and standing of the people they wish to replace those in government with.

However, despite their very firmly held positions, the argument is out forth that the overriding issue in this election should be about having President Hichilema compete with a team that stands a better chance of removing him from power, and that that team is the Mundubile/Makebi team, which it is agued everybody should coalesce around. They argue that other finer details can be ironed out later after the ‘big elephant’ in the room, the UPND, has been dealt with.

There can be no argument indeed that those in the opposition will stand a better chance of winning if they came together around one candidate. But even without coming together, opposition parties in this country have been able to wrestle power from ruling parties in crowded fields. It happened in 2011 when Michael Sata defeated Rupiah Banda and Hakainde Hichilema in a three horse race, with many other contenders. Change of government also happened in 2021 when Hichilema defeated Edgar Lungu and PF in a crowded field. Therefore, there is nothing that can stop Tonse/Pamodzi, or any other party in the opposition from wrestling power from the UPND. The determining factor in Zambian politics are the Zambian people themselves. The same Zambian people would be able to keep the UPND in office, even with a united or disunited opposition, if they have determined that President Hichilema needs to remain in office to finalise his programmes.

However, those who have given their own reasoning for why they do not want to be part of a united alliance must not be shamed or ridiculed. They have given their own reasons for why they are proceeding in the manner they are. Besides that, these are people who have worked hard developing their own parties and crafting their own political fortunes in this country, and who feel that their agenda would be muddied if they are forced to join in as junior partners in the other alliances. They actually feel that they would disadvantage themselves further as those they will support will go about entrenching themselves in power in the event of victory, as usually happens in politics, especially in Africa, and other parts of the world.

Their democratic rights must be respected and Zambians will ultimately give a verdict about them on August 13, 2026.

We can safely say that political contestation for the August 13 election has been settled, with the contesants being President Hichilema, Mundubile, Kalaba, M’membe, Dr Brian Mushimba, Xavier Chungu (who is still incarcerated as campaigns are proceeding), among the many others. 

We urge the Zambian people to strictly scrutinise the contestants offering to lead them. Scrutinise their campaign programmes and their workability. How is their character like? Are they honest, trustworthy people who will put public good ahead of their own interests? Are they open, transparent and accountable? Are they offering promises that are tangible and workable, and not those ‘heaven on earth’s’ promises which we have grown accustomed to, and which we know very well that they won’t even stand a chance of becoming reality?

We know there is the chimwela and euphoria of the election season, but in the midst of that let’s pause and reflect deeply on the candidates before us.