Antonio Mwanza tells Mundubile to learn from PF’s 2021 defeat ahead of 2026 elections

Mwanza tells Mundubile to learn from PF’s 2021 defeat ahead of 2026 elections Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Antonio Mwanza has urged National Republican Party for United Party (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Mundubile to draw lessons from the Patriotic Front’s defeat in the 2021 general elections, saying the opposition should focus on avoiding the mistakes […]

Mwanza tells Mundubile to learn from PF’s 2021 defeat ahead of 2026 elections

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Antonio Mwanza has urged National Republican Party for United Party (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Mundubile to draw lessons from the Patriotic Front’s defeat in the 2021 general elections, saying the opposition should focus on avoiding the mistakes that led to the party’s heavy losses.

Lusaka, 6 July – Speaking on News Diggers’ Mind Your Business podcast on Monday, Mwanza said Mundubile, who served in the Patriotic Front (PF) government, should carefully examine why the former ruling party performed poorly in several provinces despite enjoying the advantages of incumbency.

Mwanza said the PF entered the 2021 elections with state resources and the benefits of being in government but still suffered significant defeats in provinces such as Western and North-Western.

“They have to learn the lessons from the 2021 elections. We were in power. We had all the resources and all the government machinery. And we lost. We lost very badly in those places, Western and North-Western provinces,” he said.

He added that if the opposition had properly reflected on the reasons behind the PF’s defeat, it could use those lessons to improve its performance in next year’s elections

“If they have learnt why we lost very badly then, they can turn the wheel around. It’s up to them. I don’t know whether they have learnt or not. If they have learnt from 2021, with all the money, with the power of incumbency and still losing so badly, they should ask: where did we go wrong as PF? And can we use those lessons so that we lose intelligently in 2026? It’s up to them,” Mwanza said.

He argued that President Hakainde Hichilema secured victory in the 2021 elections largely because he significantly improved his support in areas that had traditionally favoured the PF.

According to Mwanza, President Hichilema won 63 percent of the vote in Lusaka compared with Edgar Lungu’s 32 percent, while on the Copperbelt he secured 54.9 percent against Lungu’s 40 percent.

He said the President also recorded substantial gains in provinces where the United Party for National Development (UPND) had previously struggled.

“In Muchinga, he got 31.1 percent in 2021 while president Lungu had 62 percent. In Northern, he got 40 percent while president Lungu had 53 percent. He was losing intelligently. He was gaining. He tripled and doubled what he had gotten in 2015 and 2016. In Luapula he got 20 percent. In Eastern he got 27 percent. And this was a huge improvement from the 9 percent, 8 percent he used to get in previous elections,” he said.

Mwanza advised opposition political parties to adopt a strategy centred on expanding their support base across key provinces rather than suffering overwhelming defeats in regions dominated by their rivals.

He said winning Lusaka, the Copperbelt and Eastern Province, while improving performances in Northern, Muchinga and Luapula and limiting losses in Western, North-Western and Southern provinces, would be crucial for electoral success.

Mwanza also urged opposition parties to pay close attention to Zambia’s voter distribution, noting that an estimated 5.2 million voters live in rural areas compared with about 3.5 million in urban areas.

He warned that failing to develop strategies based on those voting patterns could prove costly, recalling the 2008 election in which the late President Michael Sata publicly lamented receiving few votes from some rural areas.

In addition, Mwanza called on the opposition to strengthen its campaign messaging, mobilise voters effectively and establish robust voter protection mechanisms.

“The resources are extremely important, including voter protection. So the opposition must make sure that there’s a very strong voter protection mechanism because you need to make sure that at the polling stations, your votes are protected,” he said.- Nkanionline 2026