LUSAKA — People’s Pact presidential candidate Dr Fred M’membe has declared that the ruling United Party for National Development must leave office in the August general election, fixing the campaign into a direct contest over leadership.
The statement strips the election of gradual framing and replaces it with a clear decision point, reducing the contest to whether the current administration should remain in office or be replaced when voters go to the polls. The message is built around outcome rather than process, giving it immediate clarity and forcing a response across the political field.
The timing places the statement at the front edge of an intensifying campaign cycle, where political parties are moving from preparation into structured execution. Internal processes are opening, campaign machinery is beginning to align, and messaging is becoming more deliberate as each side positions itself ahead of the vote.
By linking “true change” directly to August, the message compresses the election into a fixed national moment, removing ambiguity and narrowing the space for layered interpretation. It sets a tone that is likely to influence how the campaign unfolds, with emphasis shifting from broad positioning to decisive engagement with voters.
The broader political environment, however, remains unsettled, particularly within opposition ranks where internal tensions and leadership disputes continue to surface. These dynamics introduce pressure on cohesion, raising questions about how effectively a unified campaign can be sustained behind a message that requires coordination across structures.
That contrast is central to how the election is now taking shape, with one side advancing urgency around leadership change while parallel narratives emphasise continuity and the preservation of existing programmes. The divide creates a structured contest in which both positions must now be defended with equal clarity.
The presence of competing narratives signals that the campaign is no longer undefined, but is instead consolidating around two clear directions that will shape voter engagement. Each side is moving toward sharper communication, with less reliance on abstract positioning and greater focus on direct statements that define intent.
The August timeline intensifies this shift by compressing political activity into a narrower window, where internal inconsistencies and delays become more visible. As the election approaches, organisational strength becomes as critical as messaging, with parties required to demonstrate both clarity of position and stability of structure.
M’membe’s declaration stands as one of the earliest fully defined positions in the campaign, setting a direct line that compels an equally defined response from the ruling party. It establishes a framework that forces engagement on leadership rather than peripheral issues, shaping the terms on which the election will be contested.
The election is now settling into a structured contest built around continuity and change, with each political move measured against that central divide. Messaging, organisation and cohesion will determine how effectively each side carries its position into the final stages of the campaign.
That may not be the solution
But changing one or two within that party will definitely lead to a better Zambia
What are your alternative programmes to the party in Govt?
Just a call for UPND’s exit does not make any sense at all.
He once was close to power…he swindled Zambians by not remitting Airport fees….hence MMD government closed his Zambia Airways and PF Closed his Post Courrier and post news paper….simply not to be trusted to handle government and public money.
I agree with ya…emphatically agreeing at that.
Despite the negative comments above from UPND cardes, the price of mealie meal never came to K50 and the kwacha did not pick at 14hrs. Meanwhile the squalor and poverty in our compounds is steadily starring at ba shi promise
And what did you expect after PF left the scene after running up the national debt, defaulted on Eurobond and all the economic indicators at the time going negative? Answer me Kelly Jew ,you economic expert.
If Fred Mmembe has no credibility, it means it is the same with Enka. Secondly there is absolutely no offence with PF leaving a national debt because no country has no debt. The default by PF was very normal because the world economy had closed down due to covid, and some mines were almost in liquidation. So Enka, wake up for once. Bally will fix it did not work, Kwenyu did not work we are on the third one, salt sana which is also not delivering. Visit any of the compounds, and only comment after your return so that we are on the same page
Kikikikikikiki @Kelly Jew’s friend. These desperate UPND cadres are making a mountain out of a default molehill.
Default doesn’t mean the end of the world. That’s why we have lawyers, economists, political scientists and bankers etc. They sort such things out in many different ways.
1.Education can assist you.
2.Ignorance is obscuring your vision.
3.Please engage in fundamental economics. Law of demand and supply
M’membe, the man with unprecedented innermost struggles about political ambitions. He has not aged well, he’s in complete desperate mood. A man is overlooking the process constituted by good governance. Fred M’membe is now showing his disregard and disrespect for policies related to election.
You wish. Not aged yakuti?
You really wish. But if wishes were horses, that daily motorcade from Community House to state house would be replaced by horse-pulled chariots.
Membe et al should be running with mobilisation and meeting the people in markets and compounds , instead………
Of manifesting wet dreams of dethroning UPND……….won’t happen…….
We are here
FWD2041
Fred M’membe has no credibility after he famously supported Michael Sata’s and Lungu’s PF which destroyed Zambia economically.He couldn’t even keep his own Post newspaper alive .
Never ever listen to an advice from man with a track record of famous failures and disaster endings.
Zambia wasn’t destroyed by Sata or Lungu. Both found Zambia in the dustbin.
And unlike UPND, PF even if as corrupt as present rule, could sontapo.
They didn’t loadshed us for years. I’m sure by now they could have finished Lusaka Ndola dual carriageway.
Busy with personal attacks on Mmembe instead of just resigning after clear failure. How much was fertiliser when you took over? Mealie meal? Sugar? Fuel? Did the kwacha pick up at 14hrs? Just be honest with yourselves.
Go and do basic economics, law of demand and supply than exhibiting your full blown ignorance here.
Mmembe can even be a better President than what we are seeing now.
Yayi baba that ka tinpot dictator! Ask anyone who worked with him at The Post. Unless you know something worse about HH.
As far as I can see Its like replacing Trump with Putin in the White House.
Illiterate
But why have we been given an AI article? Who wrote it since it isn’t Mmembe speaking here? Yes the author seems to be invisible but why?
I’m sure Fred can articulate his stance on his own? Is he demanding something legal, like we saw when Lungus cabinet was told to leave office or is he just issuing a political ultimatum(UPND must lose elections)
Why such clichéd commentaries on his statement?
“……giving it immediate clarity” ? It’s actually the opposite. It fogs the political environment.
Kikikikikikiki @Kelly Jew’s friend. They are making a mountain out of a default molehill. Default doesn’t mean the end of the world. That’s why we have lawyers, economists, political scientists. They sort such things out in many different ways.
Default is really really bad for a country bcoz it shows you didn’t plan for unforeseen emergencies.Furthermore only very few countries have ever defaulted and Zambia was the 1st one ever on African continent.
Maybe in Cuba he can become president, but Zambia exists in the present not the 1980s. I think he feels he has missed out, but Post newspaper was a true triumph of freedom of speech in Zambia. MMD finish, this man should be highly commended by history as a freedom fighter. But not become president
@Mlevi
First one ever because Africa wasn’t in the debt market until the latter half of the 20th century.
@Mlevi Kachasu,
Not to say its a good thing but any economist knows that Sovereign default is a recurring feature of the global financial system
Plenty of countries have defaulted. Argentina is a regular defaulter and it still survives. Ghana defaulted but has had a robust recovery. There’s also Greece, Mexico, Russia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine etc. Dig up Historical records and they include the US (defaulted twice 1933 and 1790 something). So it wasn’t like Zambia was saying it would nt pay. No the repayment had to be renegotiated. That’s why we have governments
@Windsor in Bweengwa,Zambia borrowed money not only from IMF and other countries but internal and from Individuals.The information is now available.. The $360million loan from the Exim Bank of China for the Construction.From Mikalile for the supply and delivery of police uniforms and equipment at a contract sum of $59.9million. They are many…..