The principle ‘One Zambia, One nation’: fifty years later

Abstract

In the first years of independence, United National Independence Party (UNIP) and President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda, realizing that Zambia as a young multi-ethnic state can develop only assuming normal relations between its 73 ethnic groups, proclaimed the slogan ‘One Zambia is One People’ as the basic principle of nation-building. The formation of a young nation should also be facilitated by the introduction of the principle of regional and ethnic balancing – quotas for various ethnic groups for representation in government bodies. Under the conditions of political pluralism since 1991, power in Zambia was transferred peacefully, including after the victory of the opposition in the elections in 2011. Zambia is often called a successful example of achieving ethno-political consolidation in a multi-ethnic African state, which can be regarded as a certain success in the formation of a national state. The new president Edgar Lungu re-elected in September 2016 declares that the policy of his government and of the PF party will be firmly based on the inviolability of the principle ‘One Zambia – One Nation’.