Zambians Won’t Accept Third Term or One-Party State, Says Mwanza

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Antonio Mwanza has said Zambians will not accept a third-term bid by President Hakainde Hichilema or a return to one-party rule. In a post on his official Facebook page, Mwanza said the country had walked that path before, and citizens…

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Antonio Mwanza has said Zambians will not accept a third-term bid by President Hakainde Hichilema or a return to one-party rule.

In a post on his official Facebook page, Mwanza said the country had walked that path before, and citizens had rejected both extended presidential tenure and a one-party political system in earlier decades.

“There are two things Zambians cannot accept: a third term, and a one-party state,” Mwanza said.

His post attracted 2,900 reactions, 1,800 comments and 47 shares, with users echoing his opposition to any move against the presidency’s two-term limit or the country’s multiparty system.

One user said history was “there for all to see” and urged leaders to serve their time and leave. Another recalled how the country had refused to be swayed even by generous gestures from a past incumbent.

“I remember how the late President gave free houses here in Kasama but still the people refused,” the user wrote. A third contributor said opposition to a third term did not depend on how well an incumbent had governed.

“Regardless of how well a person has governed the country, I personally wouldn’t support a third term or one-party state. We’ve been there before. No country in the world is ever short of leadership,” the contributor said.

Mwanza’s comments come amid renewed public discussion on presidential tenure, following remarks from other political figures on the same subject in recent weeks.

Zambia’s Constitution currently limits a president to two terms in office, a provision introduced to prevent the kind of prolonged incumbency Mwanza’s post warns against.

No formal proposal to amend the term-limit provisions has been tabled before Parliament, and none of the commentators responding to Mwanza’s post called for one.