We would like to make it very clear that the Socialist Party is not in an alliance, electoral or otherwise, with any political party in this country.
The leadership of the Socialist Party has no singular mandate to enter into such alliances. The mandate, which was given to the Central Committee by the party’s First National Congress in 2019, was to contest the 2021 elections on its own.
To get into any alliance, the Central Committee will need to seek a National Congress resolution and the next National Congress will be in August 2024.
So, the issues of possible alliances will be discussed and decided at the party’s Second National Congress next year.
The National Congress will decide (i) the preconditions, (ii) specific expectations, and (iii) alignment to our socialist goals for such an alliance as well as detailed electoral process and government framework. Short of these it will be a happenstance activity.
Our goal is to transform society not to merely change government but continue repeating mistakes of the past. What are the core values of our socialist government? What will be the pillars of delivery to the Zambian people? What are we ready to compromise on? What are the “deal-breakers” without which we cease to be socialist? These questions will have to be answered affirmatively. We therefore have some work to do.
That said, we are not in any way suggesting that we are not ready to work with any political party or progressive forces in this country. We remain open to the idea as long as it doesn’t change who we are and it’s in conformity with our values, principles and internal processes.