59 Views LUSAKA, July 21, 2026 – Tonse Alliance Secretary General Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba has projected that the alliance’s presidential candidate, Brian Mundubile, will win the August 13 General Election with more than 66 percent of the vote. Speaking during an interview on Diamond TV’s Diamond Live programme, Dr. Zimba said the Tonse Alliance’s […]

59 Views

Mundubile with his running mate Makebi Zulu

LUSAKA, July 21, 2026 – Tonse Alliance Secretary General Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba has projected that the alliance’s presidential candidate, Brian Mundubile, will win the August 13 General Election with more than 66 percent of the vote.

Speaking during an interview on Diamond TV’s Diamond Live programme, Dr. Zimba said the Tonse Alliance’s internal assessments, together with what he described as local and international political projections, indicate that Mundubile is on course to win the presidency in the first round.

“We are projecting that Brian Mundubile will win with over 66 percent of the vote,” Dr. Zimba said.

Mundubile, who is contesting on the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRP-UP) ticket with running mate Makebi Zulu, has emerged as one of President Hakainde Hichilema’s main challengers after launching his campaign two months ago under the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance, a coalition of more than 20 political parties.

Dr. Zimba, a political scientist and founder of the Tonse Alliance, said all the indicators available to the alliance pointed to Mundubile becoming Zambia’s next Republican President.

Chris Zumani Zimba

hHichilema addressing a rally in Chiwempala

He argued that the presidential race had effectively narrowed to two candidates—President Hakainde Hichilema and Brian Mundubile.

“The other 11 presidential candidates are merely participants in the election. The real contest is between Hakainde Hichilema and Brian Mundubile,” he said.

When the programme host pointed out that Citizens First president Harry Kalaba finished third in the 2021 presidential election, Dr. Zimba responded that Kalaba’s national vote share was comparatively small.

He argued that the level of support now being witnessed for Mundubile was significantly different from previous elections.

According to Dr. Zimba, the NRP-UP campaign has rapidly gained momentum since its launch, with the alliance’s campaign message spreading across the country.

He said the alliance’s campaign song was now being played in homes, vehicles and entertainment places, describing it as evidence of growing public support.

He further pointed to the large crowds that have attended Mundubile’s campaign rallies in the seven provinces visited so far.

“Our supporters are coming to the rallies on their own. They are not being transported,” he said.

Dr. Zimba also reflected on his previous role as Political Adviser to former President Edgar Lungu during the Patriotic Front’s 2021 election campaign.

Responding to criticism that he had failed to deliver victory for the PF, he said he joined the campaign when the party had already suffered a significant decline in public support.

“I informed President Lungu that it would be very difficult to recover the lost ground,” he said.

Dr. Zimba said that after the election he advised Lungu to accept the results and personally accompanied him during the transition of power.

He further disclosed that following his imprisonment in 2023, he established the Tonse Alliance upon his release and worked with the late President Lungu in building the opposition coalition.

According to Dr. Zimba, after the Constitutional Court ruled that Lungu was ineligible to contest the 2026 election, discussions shifted towards what he described as “Plan B.”

He said the late former President entrusted him with implementing that strategy and identifying a candidate capable of leading the alliance into the general election.

Dr. Zimba rejected suggestions from critics that he had failed politically, insisting that his opinions were based on years of experience and professional analysis.

“I am not speaking from nowhere. I am an expert in politics,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana, when asked to respond to Dr. Zimba’s projections, said government had taken note of the predictions.

“We have heard his predictions and wish him well,” Kawana said.

Zambia goes to the polls on August 13, 2026, with 13 presidential candidates seeking election, although the contest has increasingly been portrayed by both the ruling UPND and the opposition Tonse Pamodzi Alliance as a two-horse race between President Hakainde Hichilema and Brian Mundubile.