Zambians began voting on Thursday morning in a general election in which incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema, who first won office in 2021, is seeking a second five-year term against 13 challengers, with main opposition candidate Brian Mundubile, 55, backed by an alliance of parties running under the newly formed NRPUP party.
Zambia holds general election as Hichilema seeks second term against 13 challengers
Zambians began voting on Thursday morning in a general election in which incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema, who first won office in 2021, is seeking a second five-year term against 13 challengers, with main opposition candidate Brian Mundubile, 55, backed by an alliance of parties running under the newly formed NRPUP party.
Polling stations opened at 6am local time (04:00 GMT), according to Al Jazeera, and are set to close at 6pm, with the Electoral Commission expected to announce results by Monday, August 17. Al Jazeera reports 8.7 million people are registered to vote.
Presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections are being held simultaneously. Al Jazeera notes voters will also elect candidates for 226 parliament seats, up from the previous 156.
Hichilema, described by Al Jazeera as a 64-year-old tycoon who won the 2021 election on his sixth attempt, is running on his economic record after steering Zambia through a debt restructuring following its sovereign debt default in 2020. Al Jazeera reports his campaign has focused on job creation and an infrastructure drive.
Economic indicators have shown some improvement: Al Jazeera reports inflation fell to 6.8 percent in April and the kwacha currency has strengthened, while the unemployment rate stands at about 10 percent. However, both sources note that many households continue to face high food and energy prices. Al Jazeera adds that more than 70 percent of Zambia's 22 million people live on less than $3 a day, citing World Bank data.
Mundubile entered the race in May, according to Al Jazeera, injecting uncertainty into a contest that had appeared likely to favour Hichilema. His NRPUP party draws much of its political base from the Patriotic Front, which governed Zambia from 2011 to 2021.
Security was tightened ahead of the vote. Africanews reports the government announced on Wednesday the arrests of several people, including three former senior government officials, over an alleged plot to interfere with the electoral system.
Both sources note that Zambia is considered one of Africa's more stable democracies but has come under scrutiny over concerns that Hichilema's government has narrowed space for dissent.
A candidate must secure more than 50 percent of votes to win outright; otherwise, the top two contenders proceed to a run-off.
- No direct response from the Hichilema government to Mundubile's allegations that the campaign environment was not free and fair.
- No detail provided by either source on the specific nature of the alleged electoral interference plot or the identities of those arrested.
- The positions and platforms of the 12 other presidential candidates beyond Mundubile are not described.
- No independent election observer assessments of the campaign environment or voting process are included.
- Voter turnout figures and any early results are not yet available.
- Africanews — original — by @africanews
- Al Jazeera English
Read the original at Africanews