Nevers Considers MMD Alliance With PF

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) president Nevers Mumba has said he is open to the idea of his party joining an electoral alliance with the incumbent Patriotic Front (PF), provided that such an alliance prioritises the plight of impoverished Zambians.

Speaking in a special interview programme on Diamond TV on Tuesday, Mr Mumba said he would consider an alliance with the PF but that a decision would not come until the MMD’s national convention on March 20th. 

“If the National Executive Committee decides that we go with the Patriotic Front or any other political party, that becomes our preference,” Mumba said. “But as I speak right now we are going to make sure we debate it [and] look at how that decision will benefit the Zambian people, to come out of the challenges that we are facing as a nation.”

Mr Mumba’s statement comes as something of a shock after he had previously been highly critical of the PF government. In September last year he accused the Patriotic Front of hiring a South African IT firm to rig the upcoming general elections, as well as using pre-marked ballot papers to win a by-election in Lukashya. 

When asked by interviewer Costa Mwansa if the alliance was currently on the table for the MMD, Mr Mumba said that the party had not formally met to discuss the idea. 

Mr Mumba went on to observe that political alliances had become a hot-button issue in recent weeks, following the announcement of the opposition UPND alliance earlier this month.

“We can’t escape the discussion on alliances. It’s on everyone’s mouth; it’s in the UPND, NDC, ADD, Patriotic Front. I don’t know why people think it should not be in the Movement for Multiparty Democracy,” he said.