Opposition Unity Is Non-Negotiable After Chawama Result – Pact

Opposition Unity Is Non-Negotiable After Chawama Result – Pact

People’s Pact has renewed calls for opposition unity, warning that failure to consolidate efforts ahead of the August 13 general elections could undermine the chances of dislodging the ruling United Party for National Development. The call follows the Forum for Democracy and Development’s victory in the Chawama parliamentary by-election, contested under the Tonse Alliance umbrella.

People’s Pact vice president for policy Bob Sichinga said the Chawama outcome carried important lessons that opposition parties should not ignore. While congratulating FDD and the groups that supported the campaign, Sichinga cautioned that urban by-election victories should not be misread as a guarantee of success at the national level.

He noted that voting patterns in urban constituencies often differ from those in rural areas, where elections tend to be influenced by different dynamics. According to Sichinga, the opposition risks repeating past mistakes if it fails to develop a unified approach across all regions and electoral levels.

Sichinga said the opposition remains fragmented despite the Chawama win and warned that continued disunity could turn celebrations into disappointment during the general elections. He argued that the Tonse grouping itself appears fractured, with concerns that the Patriotic Front, described as the anchor party of the alliance, has been excluded from the current arrangement.

He said the exclusion has created uncertainty among voters, particularly given PF’s historical electoral weight. In his view, opposition parties cannot afford internal rivalries if they are to mount an effective challenge to the ruling party.

Sichinga urged opposition leaders to draw lessons from both political history and moral principles, referencing the biblical teaching that a divided kingdom cannot stand. He said unity was not simply a strategic option but a necessity if the opposition hoped to secure victory in August.

He said previous elections had demonstrated that where multiple opposition candidates competed against each other, the ruling party benefited from divided votes. Sichinga argued that in many cases, opposition candidates would have won seats had they pooled their support behind a single contender.

The People’s Pact official said the Chawama outcome should serve as a warning rather than a moment of complacency. While acknowledging the effort invested by all parties that supported the FDD campaign, he said the broader picture showed an opposition that remains disjointed and vulnerable.

He said opposition parties must urgently agree on mechanisms for cooperation, candidate selection and collective messaging. According to Sichinga, failure to do so could allow the ruling party to retain power despite widespread public dissatisfaction.

The comments come amid ongoing debates about the future of the Tonse Alliance and the broader opposition landscape ahead of the 2026 polls. Political actors have differed on how alliances should be structured and which parties should play leading roles.

Sichinga said the People’s Pact remains open to working with all opposition players and is inviting parties across the political spectrum to unite. He said the priority should be defeating what he described as an oppressive system, rather than advancing individual party interests.

He warned that without a clear and united front, opposition parties risk repeating scenarios where vote splitting hands victory to the ruling party by default. He said time was running out and urged leaders to move beyond rhetoric and commit to concrete unity arrangements.

The People’s Pact, he said, believes that the Chawama by-election has once again demonstrated the cost of fragmentation and the potential power of coordinated action, if properly harnessed ahead of August.