1 ONE-PARTY DOMINANCE AND DEMOCRACY IN ZAMBIA 1 By Neo Simutanyi 2 Centre for Policy Dialogue Introduction The emergence of dominant parties in newly democratised countries of Southern Africa has raised a renewed concern regarding the relationship between one-party dominance and democracy. It has always been assumed that the domination of one-party in any political system can result in a reduction in political competitiveness, threaten democratic consolidation and affect the overall performance of democracy. A central proposition with one-party dominance is that it does not allow for periodic alternation in political leadership and may undermine the democratic project by being unresponsive to popular demands (Southall 2005). In general, dominant parties have been held responsible, among other things, to the following: reducing political competition, excluding specific groups from political power and representation, blurring the lines between party and state, preventing policy innovation, blocking political initiative, promoting system breakdown and encouraging corruption and self-centred/personalist behaviour (Bogaards 2003). In Africa, dominant parties have emerged as a result of historical circumstances which include among others, the nature of the party system, history of the struggle for political independence and liberation and the complexion of the political opposition. Without exception, parties credited with the attainment of political independence and liberation have tended to dominate political systems of most African countries. For example, the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in Botswana, 1 Revised version of a paper first presented to a Friedriech Ebert Stiftung-Mozambique regional workshop on ‘Dominant Parties and Democracy in Southern Africa’, Maputo, November 2005. 2 This study has been prepared with the assistance of Njekwa Mate of the University of Zambia.