Transition
Eager to pre-empt Boer, Portuguese and German expansion, the British government sanctioned the British South Africa Company(BSA) in 1889 to administer the lands beyond the Limpopo. Headed by Cecil Rhodes, the BSA company moved into Southern Rhodesia(now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia(present day Zambia), signing concessions that granted it exclusive mining rights. Unable to reap enough from Northern Rhodesia's copper mines, the BSA handed back administrative responsibilities of the territory to the British government in 1924 which in turn formed a Legislative Council excluding the majority African population.

African workers were denied the right to belong to trade unions and were instead consigned to welfare societies. Out of this arrangement was born the Federation of Welfare Societies.

The Federation was turned into a political party named the Northern Rhodesia Congress, changed in 1951 to the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress led by Harry Nkumbula. Despite its concerted efforts to fight the federation of the two Rhodesias and Nyasaland (now Malawi), the Congress lost the battle and in 1953 the territories came under one administration.

The birth of a breakaway group from Nkumbula's Congress, led by a school teacher named Kenneth Kaunda, raised the political temperature in the country. The Congress was banned in 1959 and Kaunda jailed. On his release the same year, the radicals formed the United National Independence Party (UNIP), installing Kaunda as their leader.

Protracted protests forced the British to introduce a constitution for Northern Rhodesia allowing an African majority in the Legislature. UNIP participated in the elections that followed and formed a coalition government with the Congress. The Federation was dissolved in 1963 much to the delight of the African majority.

The Three Republics
Zambian post independence political history is usually divided into three: The First Republic is the multiparty period from independence in 1964 to 1972; the Second Republic is the single party era from 1973-90. The third Republic was born technically in December 1990 when amendments to reintroduce pluralism were signed by Kaunda; but in practice, the republic came after the 31 October  elections in 1991.

The First Republic: Independence
Independence came on 24 October , 1964. Zambia was born.
Kenneth Kaunda was its first President. Endowed with copper deposits, Zambia was, at independence, one of Africa's wealthiest economies.

Zambia however failed to develop its agricultural potential, causing massive rural-urban migration that increased unemployment and derailed plans for rural reconstruction. Popular support for UNIP declined but the party managed to win the 1968 elections, and Kaunda was  retained as President.

The liberation struggle
The Kaunda government took a strong stand against the white-led government in Rhodesia, which had declared Unilateral independence from Britain. He gave full support to the liberation movements in Southern Rhodesia, Mozambique and South Africa. At home, a split in UNIP threatened his power base. Simon Kapwepwe, President of the breakway United People's Party (UPP), posed a substantial threat to the Presidency but his party was banned in 1972.

The Second Republic: one-party state UNIP declared a one-party state in December 1972. Kaunda was re-elected in 1973 for a third term under a new constitution that gave wide-ranging powers to UNIP.

In October 1978 Kaunda bounced back as the sole presidential candidate, fortified by constitutional amendments that shut out all opposition, Kapwepwe being one of the principal challengers. Zambia through the late 1970s suffered from Rhodesian air raids on members of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) wing of the Patriotic Front. This only came to an end in 1979 when the implemention plan for independence was effected, leading to the end of white rule and the birth of Zimbabwe.

The Third Republic: pluralism
The collapse of communism in eastern Europe fanned a second wind of change over Africa. Zambia, already reeling from internal economic problems, had to contend with growing popular disatisfaction with the one -party system as did most of the continent's single-party governments.
Food riots in 1990 led to an abortive four-hour coup orchestrated by a group of junior army officers led by Lieutenant Mwamba Luchembe. Loyalist troops arrested Luchembe. Kaunda later set free all political prisoners including Luchembe under a general amnesty.

However, the fervor for change was growing. A loose coalition of intellectuals, politicians and trade unionists formed the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD)the same year and marshalled a following across the country that was to change the face of one-party Zambia. Frederick Chiluba, Chairman of the powerful Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) had risen to become Kaunda's main rival over the 17 years that he (Chiluba) led the workers' body. MMD lined him up for state presidency.

Under pressure to revert to pluralism, Kaunda approved amendments to the constitution in December 1990, formally turning Zambia back into a multiparty state and ending 18 years of one-party rule.

In October 1991 Zambia made a peaceful transition from one-party rule to multi-partysm in an historic general election that dislodged Kenneth Kaunda from the helm of state after 27 years in office and ushered in the MMD under the leadership of Chiluba.

Kaunda accepted defeat, a move widely hailed as expemplary by political commentators. The elections were declared free and fair by a range of reputable international Observors. Chiluba received 75.79 percent of the votes cast and Kaunda 24.21 percent.

In the legislative elections, MMD took 125 seats in the National Assembly and UNIP 25.

There has been several changes to the constitution that followed a series of meetings between UNIP and MMD prior to the elections on 31 October, 1991. Significantly, the post of Vice President was introduced in place of Prime Minister. Parliament was increased from 135 to 150 elective seats (eight are Presidential nominees) and two five -year terms of office for the President introduced.

Liberalisation
Chiluba's government moved quickly to liberalise Zambia's command economy, dismantling the huge parastatal empire created under the one-party state in one of the most aggressive privatisations exercises in sub-saharan Africa. The government felt it was necessary to inject competition in the monopolistic economy, to induce growth.

Opposition
UNIP remained the major opposition party from 1991. Kaunda retired in 1992 but returned to active politics two years later. A cluster of smaller political parties continued to emerge. The number of political organisations rose dramatically over the next seven years.

In January 1998, there were 37 registered political parties. Since then, many have been de-registered for failing to submit returns to the Registrar of Societies as by law required, to leave the following: Labour Party, United National Independence Party (UNIP), Movement for Multi-Party Democracy MMD), Liberal Progressive Front  (LPF), National Citizens Coalition (NCC), Lima Party (LM), Agenda for Zambia (AZ), National Party, Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC), Movement for Democratic Process (MDP), the Christian Alliance of the Kingdom of Africa (CHAKA).

Seven years and another general election later(1996), the MMD is still firmly in control, with 131 elected Members of Parliament and eight nominated parliamentarians in a National Assembly of 158. With 10 independent Members, two members from the Agenda for Zambia, two from the Zambia Democratic Congress and five from the National Party, political opposition in Parliament is numerically insignificant.

State of Emergency
Zambia inherited a state of emergency from the colonial era. Kaunda kept the emergency in force throughout his 27-year rule.

Chiluba cancelled the emergency upon taking office. He however invoked it in March 1993 following the discovery of documents allegedly drafted by UNIP to incite civil disobedience and general unrest countrywide. Several leading opposition figures were detained. Most of the opposition leaders were eventually released by the state, others by courts of law. The emergency was revoked in May 1993.

The state of emergency was reintroduced in October 1997 after junior army officers attempted to stage a coup, taking over the national radio station and causing widespread panic. The emergency ran for an initial three months upon approval by parliament. It was extended in January 1998 for another three months.

Election boycott and Constitutional Amendments
Conspicuously absent from the National Assembly is Kaunda's United National Independence Party (UNIP), the country's largest opposition party. UNIP boycotted the 1996 Presidential and Parliamentary elections on grounds that the Constitution had been amended to include a citizenship clause that disqualified Kaunda from running for President, and a voters' register which had been compiled by Nikuv, an Israeli agency. The agency was accused of doctoring the registers to favour the ruling party.

Amendments to the Constitution restricted the Presidency to candidates born of Zambian parents. Kaunda is the son of immigrants from Nyasaland(Malawi) but was himself born in the northern province of Zambia. His exclusion caused a furore amongst his supporters and international sympathisers.

The government argues that the amendments to the constitution arose out of recommendations by the Mwanakatwe Constitutional Review Commission. The Commission, the MMD said, was the child of the Zambian people who had called for restrictions on the Presidency in their submissions.

Recent Political Developments
In spite of UNIP's boycott of the 1996 elections, it has been actively holding rallies in conjunction with other opposition political parties. On 23 August last year, while in the central Zambian town of Kabwe to address a political rally organised by the Opposition Alliance, Kaunda and the President of the Liberal Progressive Front (LPF), Dr. Roger Chongwe, claimed to have been shot and wounded after police used live ammunition to disperse the crowds.

The Government denied any involvement in the shooting, and accused Kaunda and Chongwe of stage-managing assassination attempts to attract national and international sympathy.

However, the commanding officer for the town and his deputy were suspended thereafter once it was established that police had used live ammunition during the Kabwe incident to disperse crowds. Government has said it is investigating the matter.

Presidential petition
Five opposition parties led by UNIP petitioned Chiluba over his eligibility to stand for President, contending that he was born of Zairean parentage and therefore disqualified under the same constitutional amendments that barred Kaunda. The opposition also challenged the election results, citing alleged misconduct and fraud in the registration exercise. The Supreme court's judgement is being awaited.

Coup Attempt
On 28 October, 1997, a group of army officers allegedly led by Captain Steven Lungu attempted to overthrow the government of Frederick Chiluba. The attempted coup was foiled within four hours, and Lungu and his men were arrested and eventually charged with treason.

Shortly afterwards, ZDC President, Dean Mung'omba, a former Deputy Minister in the MMD, was implicated in the October coup attempt and held. Another Opposition leader, the Liberal Progressive Front (LPF) Dr. Roger Chongwe went into exile, claiming his life was in danger.

Kaunda was detained on Christmas Day 1997 and eventually charged with misprision of treason(concealment of treason) in a case that drew international attention. His head of Security Moyce Kaulung'ombe was also detained and charged with the same offence.

Release
Worldwide interest in the ongoing treason trial has waned, with the discharge of Kaunda and Kaulung'ombe. Their release on 1 June 1998 came in the wake of international and regional pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Kaunda has formally announced his retirement from active politics, a decision that will have to be endorsed by the party's supreme organ, the National Council later in 1998.

New challenge and succession
On 20 June 1998, charismatic televangelist Dr. Nevers Mumba launched a political party called the National Citizens' Coalition (NCC) in Kabwe and declared that he would contest the Presidency during the next elections in 2001. His party derives from a pressure group he founded known as the National Christian Coalition.

In a political landscape where the issue of succession has become very contentious, Dr. Mumba is the first Zambian who has publicly declared his intention to run for President.

The Zambian Constitution provides for a President to serve two five-year terms. President Chiluba is serving his second term and has gone on record as saying that he will not seek re-election

UNIP, on the other hand, is faced with the daunting task of finding a suitable replacement for Kaunda.

Media
It is relatively easy to set up a newspaper or radio station under Zambian law. A number of newspapers and radio stations sprang up with the coming of pluralism.

Zambia has three daily newspapers (The Post, Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail), four weekly newspapers, (Financial Mail, Sunday Times, Sunday Mail, National Mirror) one bi-weekly (The Monitor) and three monthly periodicals: Profit, Icengelo, The Zambia Farmer.

The Times of Zambia, Sunday Times, Zambia Daily Mail, Financial Mail are owned by the Government. The Post is privately owned. The National Mirror is owned by the Church, through a number of Christian organisations.

There is one government-owned news agency, the Zambia News Agency (ZANA). There is a state-owned public broadcasting service, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) which provides radio programmes in English and seven local languages, and a single television channel.

In addition, Multi-Choice (Zambia) facilitates the transmission of cable television.  Other organisations providing a cable television service are the Cable and Satellite  Television(CASAT) and Trinity Broadcasting Corporation (which is derived from American Christian television).

There are three private radio stations: Radio Christian Voice (which broadcasts in short-wave and frequency modulation). Radio Icengelo (in Kitwe on the Copperbelt owned by the Catholic Church). Radio Phoenix is a commercial radio station broadcasting in Frequency Modulation from Lusaka.

Freedom of Expression
Under Article 20(1), freedom of expression is safeguarded while under Article 20(2) freedom of the press is protected. But under Article 20(3) laws can be made that delimit that freedom as long as they are "reasonably justifiable in a democratic society".

The High Court declared in 1997 that the government's proposed imposition of a statutory regulatory media body infringed journalists' rights to assembly and association.