Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

In the run-up to the election tensions arouse within the ruling party, MMD (Movement for Multiparty Democracy), on the issue of succession. Still the party was able to close ranks and campaign for veteran politician Rupiah Banda. Michale Sata became the uncontested presidential candidate on behalf of Patriotic Front. Most other opposition parties, however, put their weight behind the ruling party, hoping to gain some influence and obtain interesting government posts.  

Elections: close call

The elections developed as expected. The urban vote, which is always counted first, provided Sata with a significant lead. Once the rural votes came in, Banda was able to secure his expected close-call win. Violence broke out in a number of urban areas, but the police and army was well prepared and managed to control the isolated outbreaks. The elections themselves were declared free and fair by many (inter)national observers. A parallel voting exercise undertaken by an American and a Zambian organisation also confirmed the accuracy of the results.  

After the elections, the political scene was only gradually normalising. Rupiah Banda had little time to settle in before having to face a number of challenges. The new president had to deal with an opposition angry at what it claims was election-rigging, as well as trying to maintain the unity of his own party, the MMD. He made a number of contested appointments, bringing back veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga and appointing active MMD rank-and-file within the state bureaucracy thereby blurring state-party boundaries.  

Resistance to change

Meanwhile, the political parties that supported MMD during the elections have not yet been rewarded for their efforts. It is believed that there is serious resistance within the MMD rank and file piling pressure on the new president to remain within the party in terms of appointments. Within the MMD itself, divisions are still simmering and deep rooted. Some members blame the late president for having neglected the grassroots supporters who are the very foundation of party mobilisation. He is also being accused of having sidelined the faithful members of the party in preference to his colleagues from the legal fraternity and family members.  

Another issue that dominated the agenda in 2008 concerned the ongoing constitutional review process (by a popular body called the National Constitutional Conference, NCC). This constitution has been a bone of contention since the re-introduction of multiparty democracy in Zambia, over 15 years ago. It should be changed in such a way that it is a more adequate reflection of the needs of a democratic state, in which the separation of powers is a key element and in which decision-making is based on the views of a broad cross-section of Zambian society.Yet some leaders of the Patriotic Front party and most members of the Oasis Forum, an influential civil society platform, pursued a boycott in 2008.