‘PF big liability to alliances if it remains a personality cult,’ Banda warns main opposition party ahead of 2026 polls

Former Kasenengwa Constituency lawmaker, Sensio Banda, has urged the warring Patriotic Front (PF) factions to negotiate a “Grand Bargain” in which losers of internal contests are guaranteed influential roles in the shadow cabinet or party structure. Banda described the current state of the PF as a “paradox”—a grassroots base that remains like a furnace, fueled by unwavering loyalty and a “fire” that refuses to be extinguished despite the 2021 electoral defeat. In an interview with Zambia Monitor, Banda said that as the 2026 General Election approached, the PF finds itself at a decisive crossroads.

He expressed sadness that at the top, the party appears frozen like “ice”, stiffened by leadership fragmentation, legal wrangles, and a chilling lack of cohesion. “The choice is stark: unify or be labeled the ‘traitor’ of the opposition—the party that dashed the hopes of a change-seeking electorate because it couldn’t conquer its own internal egos,” he said. Banda said the current PF landscape is marked by defragmentation: while the grassroots remain a potent political force, the top-tier leadership is bogged down by multiple centres of power each claiming legitimacy.

He noted that individual ambitions within the party’s upper ranks have begun to supersede collective survival, fostering a culture of suspicion that prevents the formation of a united leadership front. “If these ‘wrangles’ persist, the ‘PF’ will not only lose the 2026 bid but will also be historically blamed for splitting the opposition vote, effectively handing a ‘free pass’ to the ruling party,” Banda warned. He emphasized that to harness its remaining political firepower, the PF must adopt a radical and disciplined approach to reconciliation.

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Banda said the party must move away from being a “personality cult” and return to its constitutional foundations, stressing that success will not depend on who is “stronger,” but on which structure is more legal, credible, and transparent. He added that a credible General Conference remains the only “reset button” capable of settling the legitimacy question once and for all. “Leadership contestants must realize that 100 percent of nothing is still nothing.

A fragmented PF gets 0 percent of the power in 2026,” he said. Banda further stated that unity does not mean silence but order, and that the party should enforce strict internal discipline.

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