The Citizens Forum has advised the UPND/PF pact partners to merge into one political party if they are to pose a serious challenge to the ruling MMD in the 2011 tripartite elections.
Citizens Forum executive secretary Simon Kabanda said the UPND/PF pact is faced with challenges which if not addressed will cause serious damage.
Mr Kabanda noted that issues such as the pact’s presidential candidate and the sharing of parliamentary seats to contest have the potential to bring the pact crumbling.
He warned that the pact would be history if the two parties the UPND and the PF do not heed to calls for the presidential candidate to be named.
Mr Kabanda said the only best possible option for the two parties is to fully merge into a single party.
He pointed out that as long as the two political parties remain as individual entities united through UPND/PF pact, there would be continued friction in the pact.
[ QFM ]
Mr.Kabanda is 100% right and I said this sometime back,people really want change but Opposition Political Party Leaders are comfusing them.If the merger was formed sometime back this time we would have Known the next President and MMD would be shivering by now.
HH and Sata should think properly over this or else they are wasting their energy and Money.
Kabanda,
What you PF cadres needs to do is first learn to respect UPND and devolve the centre of imaginary power from the personality cult of Sata whom you keep postulating as a supreme pact leader to the membership. Go for a national open convention where all members including yourself, childless father Fractured Bwalya, Arch-Bishop Telesphore Mpundu, Bishop Duff, Bishop Edward Chomba, Hakainde, Mwananjiti, Sejani, Gay Scott, Afraid Mmembe, Augustine Mwewa and all shades of unpatriotic cadres in the defunct pact to rival each other openly. Only leadership born from there will have mandate and legitimacy to consolidate and harmonise a diametrically opposed circus that you present today in Zambian democracy.The worst scenario is limiting leadership to two seasonal ballot rejects HakaSata.
You cannot win the hearts and votes of democratic Zambians to preside over their democratic system when you are allergic to democracy. MMD has remained politically resilient and enduring because its institutionally democratic as pioneer and custodian of democracy. Leadership is institutionalised such that there is transitivity of power from one statesman to another. This is not the case with PF where Sata is PF and PF is Sata. The death of Sata is the end of PF considering that they would opt for Kambwili against Gay Scott or Lubinda.Tribalism and fanaticism are at the core of PF. Nothing is institutional.
Iwe Chi Senior Citizen why is it you have a one mind track like a train heading to kabwe on a single track rail road, waiving the mmd flag .
we have no doubt by now that you are an mmd Minion ,weather you paint yourself red grean or even black, you will always STINK mmd.
However Know this two things will take place while on those tracks wether you like it or not , and very soon too.
1 you tracks will come to an end regardless .
2 Derailment will happen.
then we will see your smart mouth then
Kabanda you are doing a good job in mantaining the presure on the pact. It will certainly break up sooner with those efforts, keep it up. Keep pressurising us to chose a presidential candidate as well.
1- Kabanda is correct that PF/UPND pact must unite or else they are just worsting their time & they will be permanent opposition political party
2- Senior Citizen u are stu.pid / foo.lish 4 expecting a renowned catholic priest( father Bwalya) to have children
3- Zambians will definitely suffer the worst should they allow again this tourist bwezani makopolo bandato be leader after 2011.
1- Kabanda is correct that PF/UPND pact must unite or else they are just worsting their time & they will be permanent opposition political party
2- Senior Citizen u are stu.pid / foo.lish 4 expecting a renowned catholic priest( father Bwalya) to have children
3- Zambians will definitely suffer the worst should they allow again this tourist bwezani makopolo banda to be leader after 2011.
Forming a new party would prove very costly to the entire nation because that will mean by-elections in all the UPND & PF held constituencies and that will be ‘bye-elections’ for some MPs who will not recapture their seats as they will be saying bye to the voters.It will be like what happened in Milupi’s case where after he changed the platform from being “private” to “party” sponsored he was required by law to relinguish his MP position and re-contest it.The nation still spent billions of kwachas for that. I hope the merger doesn’t happen or if happens let the speaker not declare their seats vacant until 2011.Alternatively,let only one party(smaller party) disband and join the other and in that case only by-elections for the smaller party would be held.
Well spoken Simon. I know the system in both parties is seeing there submissions and briefing the leadership accordingly. That we are not seeing any move to implement some of our suggestions indicates a freeze in the minds of the leadership. We know what we want and hoped the PACT would facilitate the realisation of our collective desires. It is becoming apparent that our views are at variance with those of the leadership. Sata and Hichilema are about to squander an opportunity to do good for the present and future generations, and for that we shall not forgive them. Show us your leadership NOW!!
No its okay the way things are. No president until last minute. Keep them guessing
This is one of the rare moments I will agree with Senior CheatThem’s comments #3 & #4. The best way forward is as Kabamba has put it but first PF cadres must learn to respect UPND and devolve the centre of imaginary power from the personality cult of Sata whom they keep postulating as a supreme pact leader to the membership. PF should also stop living in the past by claiming they are more popular than UPND. As they political dynamics stand at the moment UPND is the only party that has shown signs of expanding as indicated in recent bye elections. Both MMD & PF have lost ground in their traditional strongholds as demonstarted in the bye elections in N/W and Luapula provinces. If PF proves to be a genuine partner, not one scheming on the horse rider notion, there is a chance of a united…
Just disband and come join the mmd you fools
If they cant work together as a pact and come up even with a draft manifesto, how do you expect them to form a party? Can you imagine the confusion that would cause with the jostling of positions? The fact would still remain that whichever dunderhead was chosen to lead the new party would mean a big chunk of members leaving and giving their allegiance to MMD or any other party which again would be advantageous to MMD. Pact have got themselves in a knot and dont know how to get out of it. HH should have tried to build his image on his own by using his youth. As a strategist he has failed and that is why I dont think he would be a good president. I used to think he was our hope but not anymore.
Senior Citizen is not a smart guy.
You may be getting some money from MMD but think of the ordinary person who has nothing to eat. Many people cannot afford their kids to school on Monday. They have no jobs. Those who have jobs have not yet received their small salaries.
Zambia needs change and the change begins next year.
Senior citizen, you have no heart. If you had one, even a bad one, you would open your eyes and see the real life in Zambia. You are being used.
That is very impossible. A far as PF is concerned Sata is the ALPHA and the OMEGA. The man is simply Selfish-Seeking
What Sata is doing to PF is what brought down UNIP. The Kaunda family thought that the only person that could be President of UNIP was a Kaunda. Look where Tilyenji Kaunda has taken the UNIP Party. That said, the PACT will never work. You have HH, SATA and now M’MEMBE trying to stare and wind-honk the nation for his self-seeking interest.
This is a win for MMD coming on the Silver Plate in 2011. M’Membe is now jittery and strung-up.
He is now having private meetings with Mangande hoping that they could be mutiny against RB in MMD before 2011
On “He [Simon Kabanda] warned that the pact would be history if the two parties the UPND and the PF do not heed to calls for the presidential candidate to be named… said the only best possible option for the two parties is to fully merge into a single party,” let Mr Kabanda forget about naming a 2011 PACT presidential candidate but concentrate on asking PF to go for a convention first so that both PF and the mighty UPND can go for joint-conventions in all the 9 provinces of Zambia where a presidential candidate must then be elected and not hand-picked after talling all the votes from the 9 provinces and then noting who between Mr PF/Sata MC and HH will have obtained many votes from the delegates.
The proposed merging is a non-starter unless PF disbands to join UPND.
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Matt…
ANNOUNCEMENT
In the calendar of the Lord henceforth, Peter Ng’andu Magande and George Mpombo are no longer privileged members of the ruling MMD. All incentives, rights and services have been instantly withdrawn. On the advise of the sponsoring party MMD which has notified the Speaker of the August House, his mandate is to declare their seat vacant.In this vein, private citizens are at liberty to individually deal with them in a manor most desired if anything is being held on the basis of personal issues. We wish them wellness and happiness in an open society of options.
Sata and HH are smart in their dealings. MMD …you had better wake up.
Your are losing the coming elections, come what may. What if none of the two is even standing…ever given it that thought?
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With the expulsion of MMD MPs Hon Magande and Mpombo George from the MMD, according to MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya, it will be interesting to see how this move will change the PF-UPND PACT’s direction since Mpombo asked MMD to expel him some 3 ro so days ago — which means he is ready for the Kafulafuta by-election battle. As for the Chilanga by-election issue, I still expect Magande to get a court injuction to restrain MMD from effecting the expulsiong because he is said to have failed to develop Chilanga Constituency since his popularity is not known in Chilanga.
I hope both Magande and Mpombo will join the mighty UPND Group to add strength to it. However, I will not be surprised to read that both Magande and Mpombo have joined PF since they had ditched the UPND earlier.
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Matt…
No need to merge. What we need is strong opposition parties with a vision to develop the nation. I believe we just have pressure to remove MMD on the expenses of having a strong opposition with strong economical vision for this nation. I’m convinced UPND have that manifesto which we need to market to Zambians.
How do you merge when you have so many MPs in each parties?Merging will mean having so many by election at what cost.If pact can not work let PF and UPND just work in harmony to ensure that the win all seats in parliament and form a government of national unit.
#18 – Just refer to your name. If none of the two stands it means somebody people do not know and will not trust and then there will be a terrible loss. Your pact is losing so much precious time for that scenario – and by the way, Mr. Sata will not accept that situation.
He said to win the elections next year, the members must know who their candidate will be without any further delay.
Mr Sata did not answer the question and instead went into thanking the residents for voting PF candidates.
There were no prominent UPND members at the rally that was held to thank the electorate over the PF’s recent election wins in Chifubu constituency and Chimwemwe ward.
PF vice-president Guy Scott said survival of the pact depends on common sense and principles.
Sata will never be a nationalist leader because of selfishness and stinking tribalism of his followers PERIOD!!. It has been internationally and nationaly proved that Bembas cannot accept to be rulled by other tribes. We are the majority!!!! Where is your majoritness to leave Sata loosing three times?? He lost 3 times and when he realises he is losing the fourth time he forms PACT to benefit him. The pact is dead!! Foolish superiority and high grade tribalism is smooking you alive. VIVA RB VIVA MMD.
RB, the best thing that ever happened to Zambia…The opposition know this (that the old man is working and the results are showing) and hence their continuous attempts to distract RB’s attention and slow down development. They know very well that if they do not slow RB down, their dream of State House will become even more and more remote.
A merger is not possible because of intense tribalism in both parties.
Where there is tribalism, there is danger!
Many on this blog who support PF are of Bemba origin and similarly many of those who support UPND are of Tonga origin.
Tribalism in both PF & UPND has even hit the internet!
Has anyone seen how tribalism looks like? What is its colour? What I know is that we are all Zambians coming from different parts of the country. It is a fact that I will be closer to my own young brother, but this does not mean that I cannot make friends from other parts of the country. All my children have been married to people from different areas of the country. Can I start deiscriminating against my own grandchildren? Let us wake up and look forward Zambia.
The PACT is neither Tonga nor Bemba. It is for all Zambians who want change.
A merger of the two polical parties, UPND and PF into one a very great idea. since there will neither be PF nor UPND. People will just belong to this one Solid and formidable party. The new party would go for convetion and elect its leaders. It would a party that unifies, all patriotic, forward looking ZAMBIAN people. Not the regionalism we are seeing in the current opposition parties. Hopefully everyone will be able to accept democratically chosen leaders without regard to which part of the country one is from (sounds Ideal, but thats what we need). But the questions is can our leaders Micheal Sata and HH be so selfless and take the first steps towards such a merger????