By Brian Matambo | Lusaka, Zambia

Patriotic Front President Given Lubinda has pledged his full support to the Patriotic Front, the Tonse Alliance, and to the party’s flag bearer, who will be democratically elected before the end of February.

Speaking this afternoon at a Tonse Alliance and Patriotic Front signing ceremony in Lusaka, Lubinda struck a measured and unifying tone, stressing that the forthcoming flag bearer need not be himself. He noted that several members have expressed interest in leading the party and that the ultimate decision rests squarely with the membership of the Patriotic Front.

Lubinda underscored that the selection of a flag bearer is not a ceremonial exercise but a weighty responsibility that demands humility, discipline, and collective backing. Whoever emerges from the process, he said, will carry a demanding national mandate and must therefore receive the unreserved support of both the Patriotic Front and its alliance partners.

In a moment that drew attention to continuity and legacy, Lubinda publicly pledged allegiance to the party founded by Michael Chilufya Sata, to the Patriotic Front as stewarded by Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and to the Tonse Alliance, which he reminded the gathering was established to strengthen unity among opposition forces. He committed himself to supporting, without reservation, whoever the Patriotic Front elects as its flag bearer.

With February fast approaching, Lubinda appealed to Tonse Alliance partners to play a stabilising role during the internal electoral process. He described the Patriotic Front as the anchor party within the alliance and urged members to guard its cohesion carefully, allowing it to proceed to a conference that is free, fair, and credible. Only a process grounded in unity and consensus, he said, can produce a candidate capable of commanding broad national confidence.

Lubinda deliberately avoided commenting on how other political formations are managing their internal elections, stating that such matters fall outside his concern and that each party must live with the consequences of its own choices.

Closing his remarks on a reflective note, Lubinda said his overriding desire is that, when Zambia’s political history is written, he will be remembered as having stood firmly on the right side of democracy.