By ADRIAN MWANZA –

The Alliance between the Patriotic Front (PF) and the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) is quickly gaining momentum, with the former ruling party indicating that further consultations with President Edgar Lungu would soon take place.
This follows the reconciliation of MMD President Nevers Mumba with his former president Rupiah Banda, which is said to have made the party more united than ever.
Dr Mumba said his party was willing to form a partnership with the PF and the National Executive Committee has mandated him to find out more about the finer details of the planned alliance ahead of the August 11, general elections.
President Lungu announced recently that discussions with Dr Mumba over an alliance had been taking place.
Dr Mumba said he was aware that the UPND and the Rainbow Party were in discussions and that it was only right for MMD to find a partner that shared similar views.
“We are looking at partners that share similar ideologies as ours in order for us to work well with them,” he said.
He said he was still assessing the president’s offer and that he was waiting to formalise the alliance with the PF.
“We want to engage a party with similar views as ours and I hope the PF would be that party which we can work with,” he said.
He said President Lungu was the first person to approach him over the prospects of an alliance.
Dr Mumba said he had reconciled with former President Rupiah Banda and that the party was more united than ever.
He also said the MMD would go for a convention in 2017, as stipulated in the party constitution.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has reiterated his will for the PF to work with a united MMD in a pact ahead of this year’s polls.
President Lungu said this yesterday upon arrival at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, in Lusaka from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he attended the 26th Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly.
Mr Lungu said he wanted to see peace in the MMD.
“I said to president Nevers Mumba; that bring all your horses together then we can have a good race together. I went into elections in 2015 with the support of a ‘rebellious MMD group’ of president Rupiah Banda and in thanking those people in Chipata, I said I thank MMD and although they were rebels, they helped us win.
“So going forward, we would rather have one MMD so that we are able to interrogate the future and say look this is how we will deal with constituencies, provinces and so on, but if they are divided, I do not want to get involved,” President Lungu said.