The National Party is a political party in Zambia.
History The party was established in August 1993 by a group of nine MPs who had left the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy after the government refused to investigate corruption allegations against senior ministers.Zambia: History The CommonwealthTom Lansford (2014) Political Handbook of the World 2014, CQ Press, p1611 The new party won five of the by-elections forced by their resignations from the MMD.Stephen Rule (2017) Electoral Territoriality in Southern Africa, Routledge
Former minister Humphrey Mulemba was the party's presidential candidate in the 1996 general elections, finishing third in a field of five candidates with 7% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections the party nominated 98 candidates,Liisa Laakso (2002) Multi-party Elections in Africa, James Currey Publishers, p309 receiving 7% of the vote and winning five seats in the National Assembly, making it the largest opposition party amidst a United National Independence Party boycott.
In 2000 Sam Chipungu was elected party president.Zambia: Chipungu Heads National Party All Africa, 31 August 2000 In the 2001 general elections it did not run a presidential candidate, but supported Anderson Mazoka of the United Party for National Development,Lansford, p1615 who finished as runner-up. In the parliamentary elections it received just 0.07% of the vote and failed to win a seat, having disintegrated after the death of Mulemba in 1998 and interim leader Daniel Lisulo in 2000.Zambian Election Update EISA, September 2001
In 2011 National Party leader Richard Kambulu contested a single seat in the parliamentary elections, receiving only 193 votes (0.01%).2011 National Assembly Elections Results Electoral Commission of Zambia Kambulu also considered running for the 2015 presidential elections but opted not to.Two Unknown Candidates Withdraw from Zambia’s Presidential Race Zambia Reports, 22 December 2014
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