By EditorZambia
As Zambia approaches the August 13, 2026 general elections, the central question before voters is not merely who is campaigning the loudest, but who has demonstrated the capacity to govern, to endure pressure, and to make difficult decisions in the national interest.
President Hakainde Hichilema stands as a candidate whose life story, political resilience, and governing record set him apart in decisive ways. 
This is not a personality contest. It is a referendum on credibility, integrity, and performance.
First, President Hichilema’s background matters. Long before he entered State House, he was a self-made businessman who built wealth through enterprise, agriculture, and investment. In a political culture where leaders often become wealthy after assuming office, his financial success predates his presidency. That distinction is critical. It means he did not need public office to accumulate personal wealth. His career in the private sector established him as one of Zambia’s most successful entrepreneurs before he ever governed. That independence from State resources strengthens his credibility on anti-corruption and fiscal prudence.
Second, his resilience in opposition politics remains unmatched in recent history. For years, the United Party for National Development (UPND) was dismissed by opponents as a regional party, caricatured and sidelined through tribal rhetoric. Yet President Hichilema contested repeatedly, enduring electoral defeats, political arrests, and public vilification. Rather than retreat, he reorganised, broadened his appeal, and transformed his party into a national movement. His eventual victory in 2021 was not an accident of circumstance but the product of perseverance, discipline, and strategic patience. Leaders who endure hardship before power often govern with a deeper appreciation for institutions.
Third, his presidency has been defined by policy consistency and economic realism. When he assumed office, Zambia was burdened by unsustainable debt, high inflation, currency instability, and shaken investor confidence. Rather than chase populist applause, his administration pursued debt restructuring, fiscal consolidation, and re engagement with international lenders. These decisions were not always immediately popular, but they were necessary. Leadership is measured by the willingness to prioritise long-term stability over short-term political gain. Hichilema has repeatedly signalled that losing an election would be preferable to abandoning responsible economic management.
Inflation has fallen from crisis levels. The local currency, the Kwacha, has experienced periods of stabilisation. International confidence has been restored through structured negotiations with creditors. The recruitment of tens of thousands of teachers and health workers has addressed unemployment while strengthening public service delivery. Free education has eased pressure on families. Political violence has reduced compared to previous cycles. Markets, once dominated by Patriotic Front (PF) cadres, have seen the restoration of order. These are structural shifts, not cosmetic adjustments.
EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU
Fourth, comparison with the administration of his predecessor Edgar Chagwa Lungu is unavoidable. The PF era was characterised by mounting debt, procurement controversies, rampant corruption, and visible political intolerance. Reports of cadre intimidation, selective application of the law, and growing tribal polarisation damaged Zambia’s democratic image.
The economy struggled under heavy borrowing and inconsistent policy signals. By 2021, public frustration was palpable. Economic analysts have rightly noted that under the Lungu administration, Zambia was on the verge of becoming a failed State. The peaceful transfer of power marked a national reset.
BRIAN MUNTAYALWA MUNDUBILE
The leader of one of the two factions of the Tonse Alliance Brian Muntayalwa Mundubile, the PF parliamentary stalwart, represents the continuity of a shaky alliance which, is still struggling to reinvent itself after its 2021 defeat. As leader of the Opposition in Parliament until 2023, Mundubile gained a reputation for temperament and loyalty to the former ruling party. Yet, those very traits may be his undoing — he is seen more as a vocal leader than a visionary.
Mundubile’s tenure as Northern Province Minister and later Government Chief Whip under the Lungu administration ties him to the PF, a government widely discredited for corruption and economic mismanagement. His challenge lies in dissociating himself from the PF’s tainted past while appealing to a younger, more impatient electorate.
Moreover, the PF remains factionalised, with regional divisions between the Copperbelt, Lusaka, and Northern strongholds. Compared to President Hichilema, Mundubile has not achieved anything in his personal capacity and has to depend on a corrupt party like the PF for his political relevance.
In short, he represents loyal opposition but lacks national appeal or a clear policy alternative to the UPND’s economic reform agenda.
GIVEN LUBINDA
Given Lubinda, the embattled acting faction president of the PF following Edgar Lungu’s death in June 2025, is still seating on a shaky throne.
Having served in multiple cabinet portfolios — Justice, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, and Information, Lubinda’s association with the corruption scandals and policy inconsistency of the Lungu years makes him vulnerable to President Hakainde Hichilema’s clean-governance narrative.
Lubinda’s mixed-race heritage and elitism and disconnection from rural voters could be his unmaking, not to talk of his close association to the PF.
Lubinda’s leadership has been riddled with infighting since Lungu’s passing, leaving him presiding over a fractured opposition.
It is also clear that Lubinda lacks the populist momentum and moral freshness that President Hichilema commands.
MAKEBI ZULU
Makebi Zulu, at 44, embodies the PF’s attempt to reinvent itself through a younger generation of leaders. A lawyer and former Eastern Province Minister, Makebi Zulu, was a strong defender of the controversial Bill 10 in an attempt to consolidate the PF power.
His political inexperience, limited national visibility, and association with the PF’s unpopular legacy make him a lightweight in a field dominated by established figures.
Of all evil, Makebi Zulu’s role in handling the death of sixth Republican President Edgar Chagwa Lungu is a serious dent on his presidential ambitions.
Makebi Zulu used the physical remains of a former Head of State as a stepping stone for his selfish political ambitions. This is a sacrilege in the eyes of many, a violation of both moral and traditional values.
Moreover, Makebi Zulu’s alliance with former first lady Esther Lungu, the widow, and Tasila Lungu, Edgar Lungu’s daughter, ignited further unease and understandably so, their involvement in Makebi’s plans was a calculated authorisation for Makebi’s presidential ambitions.
To well meaning Zambians, the charge Makebi faces as he canvases for the Republican presidency, is the immoral and unculturarly licencing of candidacy over the grave of the departed, which cheapens the supreme office of the land. It turned mourning into marketing and remembrance into a vote-getting exercise.
Zambians must ask themselves; is this Makebi, the person that the country want to be the next Head of State? The answer is no. Their royal highneses from the Eastern Province had no kind words for Makebi. His single act of holding the body of the former president and use it as a ransom for his political relevance, cannot be a mark of a presidential material.
If the PF and Zambia at large are to heal from Makebi’s antics, then the former ruling party must choose a direction that honours both tradition and integrity.
Makebi’s path of handling the funeral of a former head of State, turned Edgar Lungu’s legacy into a political mausoleum.
Makebi’s bid may be politically savvy, but it is morally fraught. He is not just an upstart. He is a disruptor who questions the very boundaries between life, death, and power.
If Makebi seriously wants to be president of Zambia one day, he must break away from narrow mind of arrogance. He must break away from the PF’s antagonistic way of doing things and articulate a new vision that resonates beyond personal arrogance.
FRED NAMAKANDO M’MEMBE
Fred M’membe, while not a senior actor in the Lungu administration, presents a different ideological proposition through the cover of his Socialist Party. His history as a newspaper proprietor demonstrates strong convictions. A capitalist at heart and indeed in his business dealings. However, politically, M’membe portrays himself as a Socialist.
Given the conflicting ideological identity, M’membe is faced with the reality of global economic governance – anchored on international business engagement.
Moreover, Zambia’s economic trajectory today depends heavily on private sector growth, foreign investment, and fiscal integration within global markets. A shift toward rigid State centric economic models raises legitimate concerns about competitiveness and capital flight in a highly interconnected world.
Fred M’membe has recently attempted to rebrand himself as Zambia’s political redeemer — a bold visionary ready to usher in a socialist renaissance. Yet those who worked closest to him tell a different story. Former editors — including respected names like Masautso Phiri, the late Edem Djokotoe, and Arthur Simuchoba — repeatedly clashed with him over heavy-handed editorial control. Many walked away, citing an environment where dissent was unwelcome and where one man’s word often prevailed over professional judgement. He extended this to his party clashing publicly with Father Frank Bwalwa who left the Socialist Party after complaining of Mmembe’s dictatorial tendencies.
If leadership is tested by how one treats those under their authority, then M’membe’s record is far from reassuring.
Now, he presents socialism as Zambia’s cure-all, despite the reality that the ideology has collapsed or been abandoned in nearly every country that tried it. Positioning himself as simultaneously belonging to several key ethnic groups like Bemba and Lozi may be framed as unity politics, but it also risks appearing like strategic identity-shifting designed to secure votes rather than build genuine national cohesion. Zambia deserves leadership rooted in principle, not political theatre.
Moreover, M’membe has been on record being a champion of LGBTQ, something that singles him out as the enemy of Zambia’s declaration as a Christian nation.
Ultimately, the 2026 election is a choice between continuity of economic stabilisation and a return to uncertain experimentation. President Hichilema’s record shows a leader who built wealth before politics, endured opposition hostility, implemented difficult reforms, reduced political violence, and restored Zambia’s standing with international partners. The opposition remains fragmented, burdened by legacy questions and competing ambitions. Unless it articulates a coherent, credible alternative grounded in accountability and realistic economic planning, it can never dislodge an incumbent whose governance has been marked by discipline and measurable reform.
As voters weigh their decision in August 2026, they will confront a fundamental question. Do they entrust the country to a leadership team that has demonstrated resilience, economic stewardship, and institutional restraint, or do they return to figures closely tied to a turbulent PF past?
On balance, the evidence suggests that President Hakainde Hichilema enters the race not merely as the man to beat but as the candidate whose record provides the strongest case for renewed mandate.
