Chapter 2 From a ‘Regional Party’ to the Gates of State House: The Resurgence of the upnd
In: Democracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia
Author:
Nicole Beardsworth
Nicole Beardsworth
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Abstract
This chapter will briefly address the history of the United Party for National Development (upnd) before outlining the reasons for the party’s surprising re-emergence as a national challenger in 2015. It argues that the party used the opportunities presented by factionalism in the mmd and PF, its two main competitors, to pull ethno-regional power brokers into an elite coalition, and in doing so, it allowed the party both to rebrand and to garner votes in regions outside of its traditional ethno-regional strongholds. This strategy was then bolstered by a highly targeted and effective election campaign waged across the country.