Opposition needs to wake up!

By Daily Revelation Editor

The state of the opposition in the country right now offers little hope in terms of giving the ruling UPND a run for their money in the 2026 general elections.

Most of the main opposition players are either at a stage where we can safely say they are mobilising or embroiled in internal party wrangles, which may reduce their effectiveness ahead of the 2026 general elections. Parties such as the Socialist Party, Citizens First, just to mention but a few can be said to be carrying some promise, but they are still at mobilisation stage, while the biggest opposition PF has been embroiled in internal strife, with the ruling UPND playing a major role towards the same.

At opposition alliance level, the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) which started out with a lot of promise, is now a shell of itself. The Tonse alliance which started out with a bang and seems to still offer some hope is now engaging in internal squabbling, which threatens to hit its climax once the remains of late former president Edgar Lungu are buried. While all that is happening, months are fast moving, with only 11 months now remaining before the general elections. At the rate things are going, those in the opposition can only hope for the saving graces of Zambians who may wish to punish the ruling party with just about anyone who may offer some semblance of being an alternative.

But the UPND is not sleeping, and through the power of incumbency may just come up with a few last minute trump cards they think would attract the disaffected voters, such as reducing the load shedding in especially the compounds, as they are doing right now. They may even come up with another partial NAPSA withdrawal, or any of those election induced programmes. Besides that, they also have their own loyal campaign base that has bought into some of their achievements since they were elected into government.

But the opposition have their work cut out not only to sufficiently mobilise their own parties but to also find promising workable alliances during this remaining 11 months. They will need to conduct an honest introspection of themselves if they feel they have any chance of making it on their own, or working collectively through alliances. They have to measure up to their real political standing, as opposed to the imaginations which they usually formulate in their heads.

As for those in the PF, we are aware that the campaign season to replace Lungu as leader of the party has already heated up, something that will only come to the fore once his remains have been buried. Depending on how they handle themselves, the succession may actually determine whether they will survive as a political party or take the slippery slope into oblivion.

For the ruling UPND, they should remove the strangle hold they have placed on the former ruling party by allowing them to resolve their own internal party matters without the heavy hand of government. They can’t continue recognising Mafinga member of parliament Robert Chabinga as head of the opposition, even when his rise to the so-called position has been highly questionable.