Caritas Zambia has challenged opposition political parties to take their campaigns into Southern Province and other perceived ruling United Party for National Development – UPND strongholds, saying avoiding those areas only strengthens the ruling party’s incumbent electoral advantage.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Caritas Zambia Executive Director, Fr. Gabriel Mapulanga said the recent development where eight members of Parliament went unopposed, with five (5) coming from Southern, one (1) Western and one (1) North-Western provinces, should serve as a wake-up call for opposition parties to rebuild their grassroots structures.
“Either the opposition has no structures there and those who stood as independent have been talked to or have been forced to withdraw or something has happened and that’s why those areas have no competition,” said Fr. Mapulanga.
The cleric warned that allowing constituencies to go uncontested gives the ruling party an advantage even before voting begins, making it easier for it to secure and return a parliamentary majority.
“It is sad that in those areas there’s already an advantage with the ruling party and that makes it difficult for the opposition to penetrate those areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fr. Mapulanga expressed doubt over suggestions that the eight (8) unopposed seats could automatically be blamed on the passing of Bill 7, saying he could not directly connect the constitutional changes to the outcome despite the noticeable geographical pattern.
“I can’t say exactly that this is the result of the new constituencies, but when you look at those who have gone unopposed, they are coming from three regions, that is Southern, North-Western and Western provinces” he said.
Responding to remarks by some opposition leaders that they cannot win in Southern Province and would not commit serious resources to the region, Fr Mapulanga said such statements amount to surrender before the political contest even begins or ends.
“No, that is surrendering before the battle begins and politicians seeking national office must be prepared to seek votes from every part of Zambia regardless of historical voting patterns,” he said.
Fr. Mapulanga urged opposition leaders, that include opposition front runner Brian Mundubile, and other notable opposition figures such as Dr. Fred M’membe, Harry Kalaba and others to physically campaign in Southern Province.
“They shouldn’t avoid going to Southern Province as a matter of fact, they should go because politics is about persuading people and presenting your vision,” he said.
Fr. Mapulanga further stressed that elections are won by engaging citizens directly rather than assuming entire regions are permanently loyal to one political party, arguing that even modest electoral gains in perceived strongholds of the opponents could significantly influence the final national outcome.
He told ZBT that unless opposition parties strengthen local structures, actively campaign in every province and abandon what he described as the “politics of fear,” they risk handing the ruling party – UPND an unnecessary [and easy] advantage ahead of the 2026 General Election.
Article by Phillip Sinkala
