Makebi Zulu has betrayed us – Resolute Party
THE political alliance between Resolute Party (RP) and the Tonse Alliance has developed cracks, with RP president Dr. Martin Phiri accusing former presidential candidate Makebi Zulu of betraying the party on account of not engaging the party on his decision of been a running mate And not fully enforcing agreements on the filling of constituency candidates with NRPUP.
Dr. Phiri says that the situation changed after Makebi, who was initially expected to lead the Resolute Party into the 2026 General Election, became running mate to Brian Mundubile under the NRPUP.
“Makebi was supposed to be our presidential candidate, but now he is the running mate on the other side. Said Dr Phiri.
He said during the initial stages of the alliance, both RP and National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) agreed to share constituencies before nominations.
According to Phiri, RP was allocated Lusaka, Copperbelt and Eastern provinces, while NRPUP was expected to field candidates in other provinces.
However, he said the agreement was later ignored when NRPUP started adopting candidates in constituencies that had been allocated to RP.
“We were shocked when they started filing candidates in our regions. That is how we ended up with two candidates in one constituency fighting for the same position,” he said.
Dr Phiri said RP responded by also issuing adoption certificates to candidates in areas that had been allocated to NRPUP, resulting in confusion during the nomination process.
He said due to the disagreements, RP only managed to field 46 parliamentary candidates, while NRPUP fielded about 154 candidates.
Dr. Phiri said the lack of coordination left the alliance without candidates in about 72 parliamentary constituencies.
He said the alliance leadership later asked candidates who filed in constituencies outside their agreed regions to withdraw, in order to normalize the agreement, but the process failed because some candidates had already spent money on filing in and campaigns.
“Some were demanding K500,000 and others K1 million because they had already paid nomination fees and spent money campaigning,” Dr. Phiri said.
The RP leader further claimed that we have not gotten the necessary support from the alliance.
“We are now competing for the same parliamentary seats as an alliance, instead of working together,” he said.
In May this year, the PF/Pamodzi Alliance in Livingstone adopted the Resolute Party as its election vehicle and endorsed Makebi Zulu as its presidential candidate.
A few days later, the PF/Pamodzi Alliance officially merged with Brian Mundubile’s Tonse Alliance, with Zulu accepting the position of running mate.
Zulu was not immediately available to comment on the matter his mobile phone was not going through.
After numerous failed attempts to call him, Kalemba sent Zulu a WhatsApp message seeking his comment and he is yet to respond.
Kalemba July 12, 2026
The bus left the station a long time ago Dr. Phiri.
