• COVID -19 Pandemic is creating two super political parties.
• This is not good for Multiparty Democracy.
• Government must create a Fund that will help political parties with media adverts ahead of the polls.

Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) has called on government and other stakeholders to consider establishing a Fund that will help political parties with media adverts and other campaign related materials in the new normal era.
Organization Board Chairperson Jackson Silavwe told Money FM News that the funds can be aimed at directly assisting political parties with flyers, campaign adverts for both radio and television among other needs prior to the elections so as to help them comply with the Covid-19 preventive measures.
Mr. Silavwe observed that the COVID-19 situation is slowly creating only two major political parties in terms of availability of resources.
“We are extremely worried that the COVID-19 situation is slowly creating only two super political parties which are the Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND) in terms of availability of resources to effectively run a successful election campaign.”
“The void of physical contact which is traditionally advantageous for well-meaning emerging political parties leaves them with no choice but not to participate in an election hence creating two supper political parties,” Mr. Silavwe said.
He emphasized that Government, Cooperating Partners and Governance Stakeholders should therefore create a fund for well-meaning political parties that will file in candidates at local, parliamentary and presidential level.
“As a Centre that is responsible for deepening democratic credentials in the country, we will not be surprised if only two or three political parties participate in the 2021 general election which will go against the multiparty system that we gave ourselves in 1991. Is this the feeling of the Zambian people that we should only have two super parties like in Britain or America,” he wondered.