INTER-PARTY RELATIONS IN ZAMBIA: LESSONS FOR MALAWI

1. Elijah Rubvuta - FODEP INTER-PARTY RELATIONS IN ZAMBIA: LESSONS FOR MALAWI

2. PAPER OUTLINE 1 INTRODUCTION 2 ESSENCE OF A FUNCTIONING PARTY SYSTEM 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTY SYSTEMS 4 POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM IN ZAMBIA 4.1 Categories of Zambia�s Political Parties 5 THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF INTER-PARTY RELATIONS IN ZAMBIAN 5.1 Nature of the Interparty Relationships 5.2 Collaborative Inter-Party Relations 5.3 Inter-Party Relations and Elections 5.3.1 2006 Tripartite Elections 5.3.2 2008 Presidential Elections 5.4 Formations ahead of the 2011 Elections 6 CONCLUSION AND LESSONS LEARNT 6.1 LESSONS FOR MALAWI

3. INTRODUCTION This paper seeks to discuss the nature of relations among political parties in Zambia, with a view to identify and draw positive lessons that could possibly be considered for the development of the party system in Malawi. The intention is to learn from the experiences in Zambia so as to identify areas to improve on and avoid the pitfalls in the Zambian experiences. The starting point: identify and explain the concepts used in the discussion; Secondly, the paper discusses in brief, the party system in Zambia Some challenges facing the political party system in the country understand the context within which the political parties operate in Zambia, The paper ends by drawing some examples in party relations in Zambia; Conclusion and some thoughts on �Possible Lessons for Malawi�

4. THE MAIN CONCEPTS PARTY SYSTEM The party system summarizes the structure of competition for government and it influences the nature of interaction among parties. The linkages between a given party and the party system are thus important for democratic governance. Generally speaking, parties work better for a country when they are broad-based, limited in number and institutionalized. Making politics in a national broad-based party system discourages the growth of regional, local and separatist parties (NIMD, 2004). INTER-PARTY RELATIONS For our purposes, the expression �Inter-party Relations� is defined as the way political parties interact among themselves around issues of common interest, and how they work together and engage one another on national and public policy matters.

5. Forms of Inter-Party Relations in Zambia: 1. Formal Structures for Dialogue on National Issues: An institutionalized and structured mechanism for exchanges and collaboration among the political party affiliates. 2. Collaborations/Alliances: For purposes of our discussion, this is where two or more political parties come together and form a single common platform which is formalized and structured, usually for electioneering purposes.

6. Forms of Inter-Party Relations� 3. Coalitions/Electoral Pacts: This is whereby two or more political parties agree to come together, usually in a loose alliance, to jointly cooperate for purposes of strategically competing for an election while maintaining their separate identities as political party entities.

7. ESSENCE OF A FUNCTIONING PARTY SYSTEM All democracies need strong and well-established parties to channel the demands of their citizens, govern in the public good and satisfy the basic needs of their societies. Political parties and party systems are necessary for a functioning democracy because they are:- the main vehicle for political representation; the main mechanism for the organization of government; key channels for maintaining democratic accountability.

8. CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTY SYSTEMS As a principle, party systems should not be too highly fragmented as this could encourage conflict and even the breakdown of democracy. Political Parties should therefore:- Become aware of the possible consequences of too much fragmentation and polarization. Encourage a culture of consensus and have mechanisms for consensus-building. Look at the electoral system to limit the extent of fragmentation.

9. POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM IN ZAMBIA Zambia is a multi-party democracy, and guarantees the Civil and Political Rights of its citizens Existence of political parties in Zambia is liberalized, hence Zambia has experienced a proliferation of political parties, which led to their fragmentation. For instance, today, there are about 35 registered political parties in Zambia. Of these, only seven has had representation in parliament since 1996. During 17 years of multi-party system, Political parties represented in parliament have ranged from two in 1991, five in 1996, seven in 2001 and five in 2006 (i.e. 3 Parties in UDA). Most notable political parties in Zambia in the last 17 years have been: Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), United National Independence Party (UNIP), United Party for National Development (UPND), Patriotic Front (PF), Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), Heritage Party (HP), Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC) and Zambia Republican Party (ZRP)

10. Party System in Zambia� There are also other new political parties that were formed recently in 2009, and these include:- Forum for Democratic Alternatives (FDA); and Zambia for Empowerment and Development (ZED). � There are indications that there may be yet another one new political party to be formed ahead of the 2011 elections.

11. FEATURES OF ZAMBIA�S POLITICAL PARTIES One is able to identify three (3) broad groups of political party categories of the Party system in Zambia since 1991:- 1) the Political Parties that were break away parties from the ruling party- (e.g. CNU, National Party (NP), ZDC, FDD, Agenda for Zambia (AZ), PF, Heritage Party (HP), ZRP, UPND, etc).

12. Zambian Political Parties� cont�d 2) those formed on their own, with nothing to do with the ruling party but based on their own agenda, (e.g. MMD, National Christian Coalition (NCC), UNIP, etc); 3) �small political parties�, that are normally one man (or �Briefcase parties�). These normally have had no capacity to contest any election (Presidential, Parliamentary or Local) However, most important for this discussion are those parties that are consistent in contesting elections (even despite losing): MMD; UNIP; FDD; HP; and UPND. These also have some visible structures.

13. Zambian Party System� cont�d Other features of Zambia�s party system are- Dominated by personalities, especially Founding Leaders; For example, one could refer to Zambian parties� reliance on names like, Michael Sata (PF), Hakainde Hichilema (UPND), Godfrey Miyanda (HP) ? and you find a similar scenario in Malawi, UDF (Muluzi), MCP (John Tembo) and DPP (Bingu wa Mutharika) Most of the parties in Zambia are promoted to help ambitious politicians assume political power.

14. Zambian Party System� As a result, people�s attachment to parties in Zambia is rather weak. For example, some study conducted recently revealed that up to 65% of Zambians were not affiliated to any political party. Much of the above challenges are not unique to Zambia alone, but may also be common to Malawi and other African countries. �The consequence is that the opposition tends to be institutionally weak and unable to provide effective checks and balances necessary in a multiparty system.

15. Zambian Party System� The other factor worth citing is that the Zambian party system is characterized by intolerance and factionalism. most parties have shown reluctance to accommodate individuals who do not show undivided loyalty to the party leader or who oppose aspects of party policy. Other factors include:- Lack of sustainable grassroots structures

16. Zambian Party System� Tendency to only mostly be active at election time; the dominant Ruling party; etc. These, among others, have had the effect of weakening political parties� capacity to bringing out policy positions on a number of issues but also their ability to have meaningful inter-party relations.

17. THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF INTER-PARTY RELATIONS IN ZAMBIA In general, the nature and manner of interrelations among political parties in Zambia is mainly in relation to the actions of the government. inter-relation is mainly reactionary and largely influenced by the attitude of the party in government over national policy issues.

18. Nature of Inter-party Relations� On the other hand, Government (and Ruling Party) tend to be defensive and act in manner that tries to justify and manage the effects of the opposition reaction. The other area of interrelation is around issues connected to the elections and the national constitution, as well as other issues affecting Party operations.

19. Nature of Inter-party Relations� In short, one is able to see two forms of relationships:- Inter-party relations that is Conflictual (fighting between and among one another), and mostly between Government and the opposition. Inter-party relations that are Collaborative between and amongst political parties. This is characterized by fair relations for mutual benefits. What you can visibly see in Zambia is much more of Conflictual than Collaborative relationship between opposition on one hand and ruling party on another

20. Nature of Inter-party Relations� Of late, the conflictual type tends to be exciting to the electorate and the parties alike as it tends to create among the actors a feeling of �winning or losing political Points or Public Rating�: Opposition highlights issues & forces government to react/responsive;

21. Nature of the Interparty Relationships In general, there seems to be a situation whereby the Opposition Political Parties� call for working together is with the general object of �removing the ruling party from power� Recently, the opposition PF and UPND have been quite instrumental in this area of providing policy checks and balances to the ruling government. �However, Zambia has also had the experience of some main opposition parties backing the ruling party�

22. Inter-party Relations� There are a number of fora (both formal and informal) that provide for collaborative interaction among political parties in Zambia. The Zambia Centre for Inter-Party Dialogue (ZCID), a formally constituted forum for promoting collaborative interparty relations established in 2006; through ZCID, political parties spearheaded the establishment of the National Constitution Conference (NCC) and the NCC Act in 2007

23. Inter-party Relations� Currently, there is a formal forum for political party relations through the National Conflict Management Committee and the Interparty Liaison Committee, both of which are under the auspices of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). The other channel is the Party Caucuses and interactions through Members of Parliament on particular subjects such as matters before parliament.

24. INTER-PARTY RELATIONS & ELECTIONS There are three (3) common forms of Interparty relationships that come into being around elections: these include (i) Alliances, (ii) Coalitions; and (iii) Electoral Pacts.

25. Inter-Party Relations & Elections� The pro-democracy movement, which later transformed into the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) was a broad-based coalition of diverse interests.. Some of the Party cooperation during elections that has been experienced in Zambia include the following:-

26. Inter-Party Relations & Elections� 2006 Tripartite Elections: In 2006 elections, it was the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) that captured the attention of Zambians. During same elections, another Electoral Pact between the United Liberal Party (ULP), a breakaway party from the UPND and the PF was formed.

27. Inter-Party Relations & Elections� The Results of the elections saw the opposition losing the elections to the ruling MMD through the splitting of the vote. Though opposition Alliance and Pact did not result in Victory, they managed to reduce MMD�s popular share of the vote; The MMD which came to power with a huge majority of over 70% of the vote has been unable to obtain more than 50% of the vote in the last 3 elections (2001, 2006 and 2008). The opposition in all the elections split the vote for MMD to win: In 2001 the combined opposition vote was 71% while MMD had 29%. In 2006 the combined opposition vote was 57% (MMD, 43%) In 2008 the combined opposition vote was 58.2%. (MMD � 39%)

28. Inter-Party Relations & Elections� 2008 Presidential Elections Prior to the 2008 presidential election, there were attempts by the UPND and PF to form an alliance but this failed to materialize due to disagreements on the leadership and candidacy On the other hand, MMD got from a number of opposition parties who decided not to contest: (FDD, UNIP, ULP, NDF, New Revolution Party (NRP) and several smaller parties

29. Inter-Party Relations & Elections� The results of the 2008 Presidential elections gave victory to the ruling party with 39.5% of the vote; The two main opposition parties (UPND and PF), lost despite their combined vote being more than 58%: (PF had 38.5% and UPND 19%).

30. Inter-Party Relations & Elections� Formations ahead of the 2011 Elections: � In recent months, there has been a number of discussions and formations among political parties, especially in the opposition. Notable among these is the recently launched Electoral Pact between the main opposition parties PF and UPND.

31. CONCLUSION AND LESSONS LEARNT Zambian political parties, especially those in opposition are much more cohesive: there�s now not so much of criss-crossing (crossing the floor) among political parties; There�s an attempt to raise issues for public debate, and increasingly Parties are taking up issues with government and raising the level of Public debate

32. Conclusion & Lessons� There is Respect for the rule of law. Zambian political parties value talking to each other � share destiny (Indaba, dialogue). There�s a strong desire to discuss issues outside parliament, and lobbying Formal forums for political party cooperation, negotiation and dialogue such as the ZCID are an excellent means of engendering a culture of negotiation and compromise on key political issues among political parties

33. Conclusion & Lessons� Collaborative exchanges are the way to go among parties. Coalitions, Alliances and Electoral Pacts (where practicable) are necessary to enhance political parties� chances of winning power or retaining it where going it alone does not guarantee them success. Where there is no proper strategy for cooperation among political parties, especially in the opposition, the result is most likely to perpetuate Vote Splitting and electoral loss, especially under FPTP system;

34. LESSONS FOR MALAWI Inter-party relations in Zambia may not differ significantly from those in Malawi. However, there seems to be some observable variances: 1) First, the Zambian party system has attained a degree of stability with at least six main political parties not witnessing serious defections, leadership change and disintegration in the last eight years; 2) Despite the party system being characterized by the dominance of personalities and absence of policy-identities, the party relations seems to have matured.

35. Lessons for Malawi� 3) The major opposition parties have maintained their independence and have voiced their strong opposition to Government actions; 4) It is the lack consistency of the political opposition that has destabilized party politics and contributed to a fragmentation and factionalism of the party system.

36. Lessons for Malawi� 5) Following the May 2009 elections, Malawi has become a one-party dominant state under the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). However, there are lessons Malawi can learn from Zambia: Between 1991 and 2001, Zambia was a predominantly dominated by the ruling MMD, which controlled between 83 and 87 percent of seats in Parliament. But despite this overwhelming dominance and the apparent weakness of the opposition, there was still political space for political parties to voice concerns and to link themselves with civil society to hold the government to account. The �Anti-third-term campaign� was a case in point

37. Lessons for Malawi� Lastly, what would be important for the stability of the party system is for political parties to continue playing their role of representing societal interests, holding the government accountable to the people, making demands on behalf of their constituents and resisting temptations to be compromised and co-opted for short-term gain.

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