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Opposition parties merge

    JOHANNESBURG

    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.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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