Opposition parties merge

Two Zambian opposition parties agreed on Sunday to merge before general elections later this year, Reuters reported. The Republican Party led by former minister Ben Mwila, and the Zambia Alliance for Progress said they would combine to form the Zambia Republican Party. The new party would be led by Mwila, 57, a presidential aspirant who held the defence and environment portfolios in President Frederick Chiluba's government before being sacked last year. The new party will have 44 members of parliament, ten of whom were fired by Chiluba. The remaining 34 members all resigned from the ruling Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) which dominates the national assembly. Mwila, Chiluba's uncle, is one of Zambia's wealthiest politicians.