The politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the president of Zambia is head of state,head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government,while legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Formerly Northern Rhodesia,Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964.
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba,a trade union leader,won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD),defeating long-time President Kenneth Kaunda. He was re-elected in 1996. As he was unable to run for a third term in 2001,former Vice President Levy Mwanawasa instead ran as the MMD candidate and succeeded him. After leaving office,Chiluba was the subject of a long investigation and trial regarding alleged corruption;he was eventually acquitted in 2009.
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corruption situation in Zambia during his term. Prior to Mwanawasa's election,he served as the fourth vice-president of Zambia from November 1991 to July 1994,whilst an elected Member of Parliament of Chifubu Constituency.
The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government,MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001,when its past leader,Frederick Chiluba was President of Zambia. Its election into power in 1991 ended the 27-year rule of President Kenneth Kaunda and his United National Independence Party (UNIP). It remained the dominant party within Zambian politics until the general elections of September 2011.
The president of Zambia is the head of state and the head of government of Zambia. The office was first held by Kenneth Kaunda following independence in 1964. Since 1991,when Kaunda left the presidency,the office has been held by seven others:Frederick Chiluba,Levy Mwanawasa,Rupiah Banda,Michael Sata,Edgar Lungu and the current president Hakainde Hichilema,who won the 2021 presidential election. In addition,acting president Guy Scott served in an interim capacity after the death of President Michael Sata.
The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a liberal political party in Zambia,led by Hakainde Hichilema,the current president of the country. The party is an observer member of the Africa Liberal Network.
Lieutenant General Ronald Shikapwasha was a military officer and cabinet official from Zambia.
Elections in Zambia take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and National Assembly are simultaneously elected for five-year terms.
The Patriotic Front (PF) is a social democratic political party in Zambia. The party was formed by Michael Sata as a breakaway party of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) in 2001 after the President Frederick Chiluba nominated Levy Mwanawasa as its presidential candidate for 2001 elections. The party's main base of support are usually the youth and poor people in urban centres.
General elections were held in Zambia on 28 September 2006 to elect a President,members of the National Assembly and local government councillors. The result was a victory for the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy,which won 75 of the 150 National Assembly seats and whose candidate,Levy Mwanawasa,won the presidential vote. Voter turnout was just over 70%.
Lt. Gen. Christon Tembo was a Zambian politician and army commander. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996 and the sixth vice-president of Zambia from 1997 to 2001. He ran for president in the December 2001 election and took third place,with about 13% of the vote.
Michael Charles Chilufya Sata was a Zambian politician who was the fifth president of Zambia,from 23 September 2011 until his death on 28 October 2014. A social democrat,he led the Patriotic Front (PF),a major political party in Zambia. Under President Frederick Chiluba,Sata was a minister during the 1990s as part of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government. He went into opposition in 2001,forming the PF. As an opposition leader,Sata –popularly known as "The King Cobra",emerged as the leading opposition presidential contender and rival to President Levy Mwanawasa in the 2006 presidential election,but was defeated. Following Mwanawasa's death,Sata ran again and lost to President Rupiah Banda in 2008.
Rupiah Bwezani Banda was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011,taking over from Levy Mwanawasa. Banda was an active participant in politics from early in the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda,during which time he held several diplomatic posts.
Christianity has been very much at the heart of religion in Zambia since the European colonial explorations into the interior of Africa in the mid 19th century. The area features heavily in the accounts of David Livingstone's journeys in Central Africa.
Presidential elections were held in Zambia on 30 October 2008 following the death of the incumbent President Levy Mwanawasa on 19 August 2008,as the elections had to be called within 90 days of his death. It was expected that there would be internal problems within the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) as Mwanawasa had not declared a successor prior to his death,but Acting President Rupiah Banda was selected as the MMD's candidate without apparent problems. Michael Sata stood as the candidate of the Patriotic Front (PF),while Hakainde Hichilema stood as the candidate of the United Party for National Development (UPND). Godfrey Miyanda stood as the candidate of the Heritage Party.
Emmanuel Kasonde was a Zambian economist and politician who served as the Finance permanent secretary or Minister of Finance under three successive Zambian presidential administrations,including Kenneth Kaunda,Frederick Chiluba and Levy Mwanawasa.
Enoch P. Kavindele is a Zambian businessman and politician who served as the seventh vice-president of Zambia from 2001 until 2003.
General elections were held in Zambia on 31 October 1991 to elect a President and National Assembly. They were the first multi-party elections since 1968,and only the second multi-party elections since independence in 1964. The United National Independence Party (UNIP),which had led the country since independence,was comprehensively beaten by the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). Kenneth Kaunda,who had been president since independence,was defeated in a landslide by MMD challenger Frederick Chiluba in the presidential elections,whilst the MMD won 125 of the 150 elected seats in the expanded National Assembly. Voter turnout was 45%.
Fred M'membe is a Zambian journalist known for his editorship of the Zambia Post. He has received numerous international awards for his reporting. In 2000,the International Press Institute named him one of its World Press Freedom Heroes.
Presidential elections were held in Zambia on 20 January 2015 to elect a president to serve the remainder of the term of President Michael Sata,following his death on 28 October 2014.
