Forum for Democracy and Development

The Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) is a political party in Zambia.

Forum for Democracy and Development
President	Edith Nawakwi
Founded	2001
Headquarters	Lusaka
Ideology	Social democracy
Political position	Centre-left
National Assembly	1 / 166
Politics of Zambia Political parties Elections

History

The FDD was founded in 2001 by former members of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), disaffected by Frederick Chiluba's efforts to change the constitution to allow him to stand for a third term.[1] In the 2001 general elections it nominated Christon Tembo as its presidential candidate; Tembo finished third in a field of eleven candidates with 13% of the vote. In the National Assembly elections the party received 16% of the vote, winning 12 seats. Three FDD politicians were later invited by President Levy Mwanawasa to serve in a 'unity cabinet', and they were expelled from the party for accepting the invitation.

In 2005 the FDD chose Edith Nawakwi, a former MMD minister, as its president. However, in 2006 the government de-registered the FDD on the grounds that it had failed to submit an annual report. The FDD subsequently joined the United Democratic Alliance, which put forward United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema as its presidential candidate for the 2006 general elections.[1] Hilchema finished third with 25% of the vote, whilst the UDA won 24 seats in the National Assembly, down from the combined 74 the alliance's member parties had won in 2001.

The FDD did not nominate a candidate for the 2008 presidential by-election, but put forward Nawakwi for the 2011 general elections. She received 0.2% of the vote, finishing seventh out of the nine candidates. The party won a single seat in the National Assembly, Chifumu Banda in Chasefu. Nawakwi ran for the presidency again in the 2015 presidential by-election, finishing third with 0.9% of the vote.

The FDD currently holds one seat in the National Assembly.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
2001	Christon Tembo	228,861	13.17%	Lost N
2006	Supported Hakainde Hichilema (UDA)	693,772	25.32%	Lost N
2011	Edith Nawakwi	6,833	0.24%	Lost N
2015		15,321	0.92%	Lost N
2016		24,149	0.65%	Lost N

National Assembly elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
2001	Christon Tembo	272,817	15.58%	12 / 159	12	3rd	Opposition
2006		610,608 as part of UDA	22.51%	26 / 159	14	3rd	Opposition
2011	Edith Nawakwi	20,243	0.75%	1 / 159	25	5th	Opposition
2016		79,489	2.17%	1 / 156		4th	Opposition

References

1. Simon, David J.; Pletcher, James R.; Siegel, Brian V., eds. (2008). "National Citizen's Coalition (NCC)". Historical Dictionary of Zambia. African Historical Dictionaries. 106 (3rd ed.). Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-8108-5305-8.