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. 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. The party did not win any seats in the
2021 general election. In January 2025, the FDD decided to join the
Tonse Alliance, an alliance of political parties. After the death of
Edith Nawakwi in April 2025, Chifumu Banda (who was the vice-president of the party and former Chasefu MP) took over as the president of the FDD. In December 2025, after the resignation of the New Congress Party from the Tonse Alliance, it was announced that the Tonse Alliance members made a decision to use the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) to field their candidate for the by-election scheduled for the following month in
Chawama Constituency and for any other upcoming by-election. The
2026 Chawama by-election took place on 15 January 2026, with Bright Nundwe as the FDD candidate. Nundwe was elected as the Chawama MP in a field of nine candidates, giving the FDD a seat in Parliament. In March 2026, a convention took place in which Chifumu Banda was chosen as the party president (no-longer acting president). The
Tonse Alliance held a convention in which
Brian Mundubile was chosen as their
2026 general election presidential candidate and it was agreed that the FDD would be the party used for candidacy by the alliance at that election. == Electoral history ==