The National Party is a political party in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

History

The party was established in August 1993 by a group of nine MPs who had left the

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

after the government refused to investigate corruption allegations against senior ministers. The new party won five of the by-elections forced by their resignations from the MMD. Former minister Humphrey Mulemba was the party's presidential candidate in the 1996 general elections, finishing third in a field of five candidates with 7% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections the party nominated 98 candidates, receiving 7% of the vote and winning five seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, making it the largest opposition party amidst a

United National Independence Party The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country between 1973 and 1990. On 4 ...

boycott. In 2000 Sam Chipungu was elected party president. In the 2001 general elections it did not run a presidential candidate, but supported Anderson Mazoka of the

United Party for National Development The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a social liberal political party in Zambia, led by Hakainde Hichilema, the current president of the country. The party is an observer member of the Africa Liberal Network. History The UPND was ...

, who finished as runner-up. In the parliamentary elections it received just 0.07% of the vote and failed to win a seat, having disintegrated after the death of Mulemba in 1998 and interim leader Daniel Lisulo in 2000. In 2011 National Party leader Richard Kambulu contested a single seat in the parliamentary elections, receiving only 193 votes (0.01%). Kambulu also considered running for the 2015 presidential elections but opted not to.Two Unknown Candidates Withdraw from Zambia’s Presidential Race
Zambia Reports, 22 December 2014

References

{{Zambian political parties Political parties in Zambia Political parties established in 1993 1993 establishments in Zambia