According to Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) […]

According to Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) 2021 general elections results for Southern Province, then opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) secured 601,998 presidential votes, representing 91.8% of all votes cast in the province.

The 2021 ECZ results report seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT revealed that Southern Province delivered some of the largest margins for President Hakainde Hichilema, with constituencies such as Choma Central, Monze Central and Chikankata recording tens of thousands of votes in favour of the UPND candidate.

Meanwhile, all 15 other presidential candidates combined managed only 42,031 votes in the province, meaning UPND outpolled every other political party by a margin of 559,967 votes and a ratio of more than 14 votes to every one opposition vote.

However, speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Tonse Alliance Presidential Affairs Chairperson, former Nkana Member of Parliament and Movement for Good Governance leader, Binwell Mpundu acknowledged the UPND’s deep-rooted support in the region but insisted the opposition expects to make significant gains.

“What we know is that the people from the South are fatigued and disappointed with this government,” said Mpundu.

He noted that despite growing frustrations among some voters, the opposition remains realistic about the political loyalty that Southern Province has historically demonstrated towards the ruling party.

“We know the kind of loyalty that is in the South towards the UPND,” said Mpundu.

He told ZBT that any suggestion that the opposition could completely overturn UPND dominance in the province would be detached from political reality.

“To suggest that we are going to get maximum support or 100% support or that we are going to beat the UPND in the South would be daydreaming,” said Mpundu.

However, he argued that dissatisfaction over development concerns and changing political perceptions could translate into a noticeable increase in opposition support during the August elections.

“But what we know is that we are going to get significant votes from the South because we know just how much people in the South are frustrated by the lack of development,” said Mpundu.

He further claimed that some voters feel misled by narratives suggesting that other parts of Zambia do not appreciate or support citizens from Southern Province.

“We know how people in the South feel duped that people have been lying to them that the rest of the country does not like the people from the South, so we know from those frustrations that a number of them are going to do the right thing,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mpundu maintained that while the opposition is not expecting to secure half of the votes in Southern Province, the alliance believes it can perform far better than previous opposition formations.

“We are not expecting to get 50%, but I can guarantee you we may surprise people because we may actually get more than 40% and we may even get 45% of the support from there,” he said.

Mpundu further revealed that the opposition intends to intensify its presence across the province through large-scale campaign activities despite challenges encountered during the nomination process.

“We are going to hold major rallies in all the major towns in the South, although we did not manage to field candidates in some constituencies because of intimidation, and a lot of our candidates were intimidated from standing while some independents were threatened to withdraw,” he said.