By 
New Heritage Party leader Chishala Kateka has said Zambia was once again at a critical point in its democratic journey, warning that recent developments risked undermining constitutional safeguards and public trust in electoral processes.
Kateka in a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday said the country had seen constitutional amendments introduced after the Technical Committee’s report, alongside seventy bills passed in rapid succession before Parliament dissolved.
She noted that ministers had been echoing State House positions with what she described as the confidence of those who believed the referee was already on their side.
According to Kateka, the appointment of judges, recruitment into law enforcement, and the filling of Electoral Commission seats with individuals allegedly linked to the ruling party together created the perception of a carefully choreographed consolidation of power.
“Judges appointed, law enforcement recruited, Electoral Commission seats filled with individuals linked to the ruling party—taken together, these developments create the perception of a carefully choreographed consolidation of power,” she said.
Kateka said the linking of proportional representation seats to the presidential vote share means that once the 50%+1 threshold is crossed, the ruling party automatically secures a parliamentary majority.
She argued that this approach turned the constitution into a ladder for incumbency rather than a shield for citizens, leaving people questioning whether this reflected the vision UPND carried into office.
The New Heritage Party leader also raised concern over the ruling party’s open call for the public to “pick suitable candidates” in constituencies such as Munali.
She said the move appeared to narrow choice rather than broaden democracy, noting that loss appears unthinkable for those in power not because of new ideas but because accountability would be unavoidable.
“To many observers, this appears less like broadening democracy and more like a narrowing of choice,” Kateka stated.
She further criticised what she described as governance reduced to spectacle, pointing to banners in ministries proclaiming what ministers have presided over during five uninterrupted years.
Kateka said incumbency was being paraded as achievement, while the substance of governance was missing.
Reflecting on Zambia’s political history, Kateka said those who resisted one-party participatory democracy and stood for pluralism were now older, having carved the path to multiparty rule.
She said the responsibility now rested with younger Zambians who continued to be excluded from shaping the future they would inherit.
“Supporters too must reflect. The very issues once criticised under PF – executive arrogance, legislative bulldozing, institutional capture – now appear tolerated under UPND, dressed up as reform,” she said.
Kateka urged citizens to stand up not for party, ethnicity or favours from the political elite, but for Zambia itself, warning that democracy died not only when constitutions were amended, but when citizens lost faith that their choices mattered.
She concluded by calling on Zambians, young and old, urban and rural, across tribe and region, to put the country first, saying the question was whether democracy would be allowed to narrow into the preserve of one party.
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