No end to Banda's woes after by-election rout

LUSAKA, Sunday

A split is looming in Zambia’s governing party over whether or not to hold national convention next year to elect the president and national executive.

Clear divide has emerged between members of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) supporting the holding of the convention and those advocating a postponement until after the 2011 tripartite (presidential, parliamentary and local government) elections.

Zambian President Rupiah Banda, who assumed the position of acting president of the MMD after the death of Levy Mwanawasa, has challenged party members demanding the holding of the convention to resign instead of causing unrest in the governing party – which last week suffered a humiliating defeat in a by-election.

MMD came to power in 1991 after the reintroduction of multiparty politics.

“Don’t pretend to be a member of the MMD and at the same time you are being used by its enemies to create unrest in the MMD, because when the hour will arrive, and the MMD decides to remove you, those people who are cheating (you) will not come out and protect you,” President Banda warned.

President Banda was not categorical on whether the convention would go ahead.

“We have to look at ourselves, we have to decide when and how we are going to the convention and if we are going to the convention,” he said.

Mr George Mpombo, who resigned as President Banda’s Defence minister in July, and Mr Ng’andu Magande, who Mr Banda sacked as Finance minister, have been the key proponents for the MMD to go ahead with the convention next year, amidst opposition from the President’s allies.

Supporters of 72-year-old Banda, a veteran politician and diplomat in the 27-year rule of first president Kenneth Kaunda’s UNIP, want him to be the sole candidate for the MMD presidency and presidential candidate in the 2011 elections.

Majority members of the MMD’s national executive committee (NEC) have endorsed the postponement of the convention and President Banda’s sole candidacy.

Analysts here say NEC officials are opposed to the convention for fear of losing their positions.

Mr Magande, a NEC official, who lost to Mr Banda as party presidential candidate ahead of last year’s elections and a contender for the MMD presidency, insisted that the governing party held conventions every five years since its formation in 1991 and party members would not allow President Banda to change that democratic pattern.

Amidst accusations that he was turning MMD into undemocratic UNIP, President Banda argued: “I am a great believer in democracy…”

Mr Mpombo and Mr Magande – MMD parliamentarians – have accused President Banda of abrogating the party constitution through his tactics to postpone the convention under the pretext that the party had no funds.

Political downfall

Western Province party executive, the only one out of the nine provinces to openly demand the convention, has been dissolved over its stance.

Provincial chairman Namakando Simasiku has rejected the dissolution of his executive and warned President Banda of his political downfall in Western Province – whose votes propped him to the presidency in October last year.

Junior party officials in Southern Province have also demanded the convention.

President Banda and his allies have frequently taken disciplinary action against all dissenting voices in the governing party, but opposition to his leadership style has continued though few members who come out in the open.

The MMD was formed as a pressure group but later transformed into a political party aimed at removing the Dr Kaunda-led UNIP from power.

Its formation followed countrywide discontent and protests against food shortages and one-party-state bad governance.

UNIP’s 27-year monopoly of power, shortage of essential commodities especially food, and the collapse of the copper-dependent economy, gave the MMD swift countrywide popularity.

After extensive pressure, President Kaunda signed a constitutional amendment transforming Zambia into a multi-party state once again.

During Zambia’s multi-party elections on October 31, 1991, former trade unionist – Mr Frederick Chiluba, who was the MMD flagbearer – won 81 per cent of the votes against Dr Kaunda.

Dr Kaunda immediately conceded defeat and peacefully handed over power to Mr Chiluba.

Since 1991, the MMD has dominated the Zambian political scene.

However, Mr Chiluba’s bid for a third term of office at the end of his constitutional two five-year term in 2001 led to formation of several breakaway parties.

President Mwanawasa, who was handpicked by Mr Chiluba, tried to revive the MMD but following his death last year, the cracks have re-emerged.

Some MMD members consider President Banda as an outsider and they argue that he must not be allowed to run the party, which Mr Banda openly admits to have campaigned against when he was in UNIP until recently (about 2003) when he joined it following Mr Mwanawasa’s persuasion.

Mr Mwanawasa appointed Mr Banda as his Republican Vice-President in 2006 and trustee of the MMD national executive committee.