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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Party System and Party Politics in Zambia: Continuities Past, Present and Future
Author:Burnell, Peter J.ISNI
Year:2001
Periodical:African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society
Volume:100
Issue:399
Period:April
Pages:239-263
Language:English
Geographic term:Zambia
Subjects:one-party systems
multiparty systems
political parties
Movement for Multiparty Democracy
Politics and Government
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3518767
Abstract:In December 1990 Zambia reestablished the legality of political pluralism and multiparty elections were held in 1991. However, the record of the country's democracy in the 1990s has been much criticized. The government of the ruling party, the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), has been accused of perpetuating the hallmarks of the de jure one-party State of the Second Republic (1972-1991). Critics claim that one-party dominance by the MMD under President Chiluba's leadership has almost returned the country to a de facto one-party State. This article argues that there are indeed significant continuities with the past. However, since 1990 the party system has resembled more closely a 'predominant party system'. Far from being a legacy of the Second Republic's one-party State, its ancestry can be traced back much further. It owes more to enduring patterns of formal political institutions and informal (ethnic) practice influencing political behaviour over a longer period. For sustainable democracy the political parties in Zambia must strengthen their relationship with civil society and the political opposition must take its responsibilities more seriously. The article concludes by reflecting on the likely contribution of the party system to democratic transition and consolidation in Zambia beyond the 2001 general elections. Notes, ref., sum.
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