All People’s Congress (APC) president Nason Msoni says the insistence by the UPND that their government will comprise of their party alone is undermining the collective effort of other political parties in recently-formed opposition alliance.

Msoni told News Diggers! in an interview that the continued bragging by the UPND that they were ready to rule because they had elected members of parliament and councillors was not just killing the alliance, but also mocking citizens who were clinging to hope that a more inclusive political structure would form government.

Msoni further accused the UPND of being too confident of their popularity and warned that the party might end up disappointed just like one opposition leader was in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s just-ended presidential election.

“Looking at some of the issues that we have read lately, where clearly one of the political parties in the alliance is bragging about having members of parliament, councillors, MPs and how ready they are to form their own government…That kind of political statement effectively kills off the alliance and I think it will do them a favour if they can officially quit the alliance because it’s mocking citizens that were clinging to hope that a more inclusive political structure would want to form government,” he said.

“But obviously, buoyed by the victory of the opposition in Kinshasa by Mr Felix Tchishekede, it would appear that this has excited our colleagues to imagine that similarly, on their own, they can register victory. But let me say this, what has happened in Congo was rather a political settlement as opposed to an outright win by the party that has emerged victorious. Clearly, it was one of the political settlements that has been disguised in the form of victory. So, to imagine that similarly you can win, I think it’s a very dangerous trajectory to take on your own, armed with one last bullet in the chamber.

He said no party that will contest elections alone in 2021 will win.

It’s dangerous politically to imagine that you can win and form government on your own, that is how most of the times our friends have lost it because the 2021 elections is not about going it alone. You will lose again these elections, you will lose like you [always] lost. If you have one last bullet in the chamber, you have to be resourceful because when you fire that bullet and it’s gone, that will be the end of that political equation,” he said.

Msoni, however, asked the UPND not to take his words to heart, saying he was just giving them a piece of advice.

“This is just a word of caution because such statements, which are being issued by our friends have got the effect of pushing away political parties and supporting the other faction to prove a point, which will be most unfortunate under the circumstances. So, when we talk about our fellow opposition parties, we have to be a little courteous and conscious that even those that would have wanted to support us, they will distance themselves and change strategy. An election is almost two and half years away and in the life of politics, one day is a long time, dynamics change. So, to imagine that you are the only one who is an alternative, I think it’s very dangerous,” he cautioned.

“We think the alliance has gotten into problems because they are always expressing themselves that their government will be the government of the party. But you can’t keep talking like that if you are in an alliance, that is undermining the collective effort of other political parties and obviously, from all these statements in totality, it’s no longer a secret that they can pretend that the alliance is alive, to the contrary; I think the alliance has died because of those political statements. Political alliances do not work in an environment that is highly poisoned with excessive political ambitions,” said Msoni.