Multi-ethnic vision or ethnic nationalism? The contested legacies of Anderson Mazoka and Zambia’s 2006 election

ABSTRACT

Studies on elections in Africa’s multiparty democracies stress the role of “incumbency advantages” in the re-election of presidents. While this blanket explanation holds true for the most part, it does not cover the successes of incumbents in polls conducted with minimal levels of clientelism and manipulation. Using the example of Zambia’s 2006 election, this paper shows how incumbents in multi-ethnic societies attempt to build a winning coalition through effective appeals to ethnic inclusion. After the main opposition leader Anderson Mazoka died four months before the election, President Levy Mwanawasa appropriated Mazoka’s legacy as a politician committed to ethnic inclusion. He successfully presented himself in non-ethnic terms, accused his rivals of being tribalists and urged voters to reject them. Mwanawasa won over key sections of the opposition’s base and an election he was widely expected to lose, demonstrating the value of studying the role of individual political leadership in incumbent-party hegemony.

RÉSUMÉ

Les études sur les élections dans les scrutins multipartites d’Afrique soulignent le rôle des “avantages du Président sortant” dans la réélection des Présidents. Bien que cette explication générale soit valable dans l’ensemble, elle ne couvre pas les succès remportés par les candidats sortants lors de scrutins réalisés avec un minimum de clientélisme et de manipulation. En s’appuyant sur l’exemple des élections de 2006 en Zambie, cet article montre comment les candidats sortants dans les sociétés multiethniques tentent de constituer une coalition gagnante en faisant appel, de manière efficace, à l’inclusion ethnique. Après la mort du chef de l'opposition, Anderson Mazoka, quatre mois avant les élections, le Président Levy Mwanawasa s’est approprié l’héritage de Mazoka en tant qu’homme politique engagé en faveur de l’inclusion ethnique. Il s’est présenté avec succès en termes non-ethniques, a accusé ses rivaux d’être des tribalistes et a exhorté les électeurs à les rejeter. Mwanawasa a conquis des sections-clés de la base de l’opposition et gagné une élection que l’on croyait qu’il perdrait, démontrant ainsi l’intérêt d’étudier le rôle des dirigeants politiques individuels dans l’hégémonie des partis sortants.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnic inclusion
• clientelism
• democracy
• opposition parties
• incumbency advantage

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Inclusion ethnique
• clientélisme
• partis d’opposition
• avantage du sortant

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 The Post, 3 October 2006, 1.

2 Ibid.

3 Zambia Daily Mail, 8 September 2006, 1.

4 The Post, 3 September 2006, 3; The Post, 12 September 2006, 4.

5 Sunday Post, 4 April 2004, 12.

6 Ibid., 18.

7 Ibid.

8 The Post, 17 August 2003, 1.

9 The Post, 19 August 2003, 1.

10 Interview with Robert Sichinga, Lusaka, 22 September 2022.

11 The Post, 18 August 2003, 1.

12 Ibid.

13 The Post, 1 July 2004, 1.

14 The Post, 5 April 2005.

15 The Post, 30 September 2005, 1.

16 The Post, 18 October 2005, 1.

17 The Post, 20 0ctober 2005, 1.

18 The Post, 18 October 2005, 9.

19 The Post, 29 October 2005, 6.

20 The Post, 17 October 2005, 1.

21 The Post, 15 November 2005, 1.

22 The Post, 16 November 2005, 4.

23 The Post, 2 December 2005, 4.

24 Ibid.

25 The Post, 2 March, 2006, 1.

26 The Post, 14 March 2006, 1.

27 The Post, 2 December 2005, 1; The Post, 19 March 2006, 2.

28 Interview with Mutinta Mazoka, Lusaka, 23 March 2022.

29 The Post, 30 May 2006, 3.

30 The Post, 26 May 2006, 1.

31 Ibid., 4.

32 Interview with Regina Musokotwane, Lusaka, 26 October 2022.

33 Ibid.

34 Interview with Neo Simutanyi, Lusaka, 30 June 2022.

35 The Post, 31 May 2006, 4.

36 Ibid.

37 Interview with Ngande Mwanajiti, Lusaka, 11 October 2022.

38 The Post, 2 June 2006, 1.

39 Ibid., 4.

40 The Post, 7 June 2006, 1–4.

41 The Post, 7 July 2006, 27.

42 Sunday Post, 4 June 2006, 1.

43 The Post, 8 June 2006, 1.

44 Interview with Sakwiba Sikota, Lusaka, 22 September 2022.

45 Interview with Emmanuel Hachipuka, Lusaka, 22 September 2022.

46 Ibid.

47 The Post, 15 June 2006, 1.

48 Interview with Emmanuel Hachipuka, Lusaka, 22 September 2022.

49 Ibid.

50 The Post, 22 June 2006, 1.

51 The Post, 20 June 2006, 1.

52 The Post, 23 June 2006, 4.

53 Ibid.

54 The Post, 30 June 2006, 1.

55 Interview with Robert Sichinga, Lusaka, 22 September 2022.

56 The Post, 30 June 2006, 4.

57 The Post, 29 June 2006, 1–4.

58 The Post, 6 July 2006, 1.

59 Zambia Daily Mail, 15 July 2006, 1.

60 Zambia Daily Mail, 19 July 2006, 1.

61 Zambia Daily Mail, 22 July 2006, 1.

62 The Post, 21 July 2006, 1–4.

63 The Post, 11 August 2006, 1; Zambia Daily Mail, 1 August 2006, 1.

64 Interview with Edith Nawakwi, Lusaka, 26 February 2013.

65 The Post, 6 June 2006, 1.

66 Interview with Edith Nawakwi, Lusaka, 26 February 2013.

67 The Post, 25 August 2006, 1–4.

68 Interview with Katele Kalumba, Lusaka, 12 February 2020.

69 The Post, 3 September 2006, 1.

70 Interview with Katele Kalumba, Lusaka, 12 February 2020.

71 Interview with Rupiah Banda, Lusaka, 19 October 2021.

72 Zambia Daily Mail, 7 July 2006, 2.

73 Ibid.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sishuwa Sishuwa

Sishuwa Sishuwa is a senior lecturer in history at Stellenbosch University and an honorary research affiliate in the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa (IDCPPA) at the University of Cape Town. Previously, Sishuwa was a lecturer in history at the University of Zambia. He works on southern Africa's political history during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and his research emphasises a historical approach to understanding contemporary issues. Sishuwa has published a series of articles on democracy, elections, ethnicity, civil society, populism, charismatic leadership, and “racialised nationalism and the rule of law” – for which he won the prestigious Terence Ranger prize from the Journal of Southern African Studies. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of African History and regularly contributes to the print and broadcast media on African politics. Sishuwa obtained his doctorate in modern history from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Research for this article was carried out when he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the IDCPPA. The author is grateful to the editors and two anonymous reviewers for constructive feedback.