Ex-Defence Minister, Mpombo, says PF risks extinction if internal squabbles persist

The continued poor performance by the Patriotic Front (PF) in the recent local government by-elections should send some shivers down its spine as the results indicate serious challenges for its political and electoral viability.

This is according to Ex- Defence Minister, George Mpombo in an interview in Lusaka on Monday.

Mpombo said the leadership of the PF should not ignore the unravelling political situation that has presented itself in almost all the recent by-election since the UPND took over power.

He said the PF should ignore these signs at their own peril because Socialist Party was in its pursuit and making serious inroads, while the PF continued to underperform to the disappointment of its members.

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“The Socialist Party is now doing better than the former ruling party. This is unacceptable, the party is still big and we cannot let it decline in this fashion,” Mpombo said.

Mpombo said unless the political drop was bandaged quickly enough by PF, the political fallout would be too horrifying to contemplate.

He said the party had to move quickly to choose a leader and usher in a new robust central committee so that the present political squabbles that have engulfed the party were resolved so that the party repositioned for 2026 mobilisation.

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Mpombo said the PF leadership must realise that it was standing on a political guillotine trap door and miscalculation would see a great number of defections hit the party.

He said it was unacceptable that PF failed to win even in their strongholds which was not the case in the past.

Mpombo said with the flaws that had been shown by the UPND in almost all the areas of governance PF was supposed to take advantage and capitalise to gain momentum.

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