Opposition parties reject Sata

Five opposition political parties have rejected the passionate plea by the Patriotic Front (PF) to form a loose alliance with it and help it win the forthcoming tripartite elections. The rebuff comes barely a day after United Party for National Development president Hakainde Hichilema said his party was not ready to work with the PF, dismissing the latter’s invitation to revive the now defunct pact between the two parties as mere public relations. And the MMD said PF president Michael Sata’s plea for help from other opposition political parties was a sign of desperation and realisation that the PF could not win this year’s tripartite elections.

The United Liberal Party (ULP) said it could not go into a pact with the PF because doing so would be unwise. As ULP secretary-general Langtone Sichone put it: “It will be foolish and naive for anyone to get into a pact with Mr Sata when everyone knows that he caused the split of the PF-UPND pact.”

Forum for Progressive Politics (FPP) secretary-general Charles Kafumbo said his organisation would not form an alliance with the PF, but instead support President Banda and the MMD in the forthcoming tripartite elections. The decisions to do so were due to its good manifesto, which had helped to uplift the living standards of people in the country. He also said that the FPP was willing to work with the MMD because of the economic policies, which had improved the economy of the country.

The United National Independent Party (UNIP) noted it would not form an alliance with the PF because of his poor political leadership skills. And the National Democratic Focus (NDF) has rejected the request. NDF president Benjamin Mwila thinks that Sata, is inconsistent and lacks understanding of modern politics. (Zambia Daily Mail)