An Update on Zambian Politics

Seeing as Zambian news probably isn't making a lot of headlines across the pond I will fill you in on the current Zambian political situation. The last time I mentioned politics I believe I was dodging rocks in an angry mob. Things have calmed down since then but there are many interesting narratives playing themselves out.

First, there is the leader of the largest opposition party (the Patriotic Front - PF), Michael Sata. This populist leader has been raising a ruckus ever since the election came to a close. Sata is a controversial figure although very popular in urban areas. He says some things that I can appreciate but also some very scary things as well. He held numerous "thank you" rallies and eventually was banned by the police from holding rallies. This action was then condemned and he is now calling for mass protests against the government. The major issue is constitutional change, something which had commenced prior to the election, but on which the government is dragging its heels in a serious way. This is because if there was a change it would be to reduce the powers of the president. Naturally, the ruling party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), has little time for such things.

The second largest opposition party, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is actually a combination of three parties - UPND, FDD, and UNIP. They ran a joint campaign in a remarkable display of setting aside self-interest. They likely would have won too, except that their well-respected leader died a few months before the election, and was replaced by a much younger, unknown leader. UPND, the largest of the three in the partnership is also quite tribalist. Their support is focussed solely in the Tongan area of the country and their leaders are Tongas. The parties, however, had nothing in common except for a dislike of the government and a desire for constitutional change, and so have been bickering ever since the election finished and now the Alliance is in the process of falling apart.

One of the recent incidents of political intrigue happened when Frederick Chiluba, former president of Zambia and leader of MMD, claimed that he had to be sent to South Africa for specialized medical care. The catch was that he is also on bail for charges of corruption. After weeks of back and forth between medical doctors and the government about the necessity of the trip (for which the Zambian taxpayers picked up the tab), charges of government intimidation of doctors to produce medical reports saying that Chiluba did not need the trip, and several trips to court, the president, Levy Mwanawasa decided to let Chiluba travel. Then, another catch. Chiluba's wife, Mwanawasa said, would not be allowed to travel with him, as she too is under charges of corruption-related activity. Eventually the court let her go to, thus ending the drama. In the middle of all this was Michael Sata and the PF. Chiluba left the MMD and joined the PF. During the just finished elections he also endorsed Sata. All the media footage of the events show Chiluba surrounded by supportive PF cadres accusing the MMD of playing with the life of the former president.

The year 2007 will be an interesting time for politics here. It will be interesting to see how those organizations interested in constitutional change - the opposition parties, the church, and labour unions - coordinate their efforts (or struggle against each other for that matter) and what impact this has on the government. I think the only thing that can be counted on for the coming year is to expect the unexpected.