By Mubanga Mubanga
Lusaka mayoral candidate Victor Nyasulu has suggested that opposition leaders in the country should be locked up in a room and be forced not to come out until they have chosen a unified presidential candidate and running mate in the 2026 general elections.
In a statement to Daily Revelation, Nyasulu stated that if the failure of the UPND administration was as decisive as many believe it to be, then the national response at the ballot box must also be decisive — clear enough to secure change in the first round.
”Let’s get you in a spacious room as Presidents of the opposition and force you not to come out until as an electoral college of opposition leaders you choose for us a Unified Opposition Presidential Candidate & a running mate,” Nyasulu stated. “There must be an undertaking that the losing candidates will marshal their supporters to the “one with the most votes” without question. Remember we again like in 2021 are not looking for the best candidate but the one with the most chances to unseat President Hichilema.”
He stated that the ruling UPND and the opposition collectively must accept responsibility for failing our generation at a critical moment in our nation’s history.
”While the shortcomings of the UPND administration are now well documented and widely felt across the country, I wish today to address my seniors, colleagues, and equals within the broader opposition movement,” Nyasulu stated. “With barely 97 days remaining before Zambia’s decisive moment, calls for “opposition unity” in the abstract are no longer sufficient. The hour now demands sincerity, sacrifice, maturity, and decisive action.”
Nyasulu urged leaders to put aside personal ambitions, egos, and strategic selfishness, and begin to genuinely feel the pain and frustration of ordinary Zambians “who are enduring the consequences of what many now regard as a failed national project.”
”From prison visits to our political detainees, to campaign interactions in wards and communities across the country, one message continues to emerge consistently from the common citizen: the people no longer want a government they perceive as dishonest and disconnected from their daily struggles,” Nyasulu stated. “However, alongside that frustration is a growing fear among citizens that elements within the opposition may ultimately betray the broader national cause through disunity, fragmentation, and competing ambitions.
We cannot afford a divided opposition vote that risks plunging Zambia into a dangerous and uncertain re-run. If the failure of the current administration is as decisive as many believe it to be, then the national response at the ballot box must also be decisive — clear enough to secure change in the first round.”
He stated that a narrow and disputed outcome would unnecessarily expose Zambia to heightened political tension and instability, the very kind of national uncertainty that late founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, repeatedly warned future generations against.
”The time for signals and speeches has passed. The time for courageous action has arrived,” stated Nyasulu. “Let us rise above our differences, place Zambia first, and work together in genuine unity for the sake of our people, our democracy, and the future of our Republic.”
