Zambia elects president amid economic crisis

Published on :

Of the 16 presidential candidates clashing Thursday in Zambia, the two favorites are arch enemies Edgar Lungu, the outgoing president, and Hakainde Hichilema, a self-taught and charismatic businessman.

In Zambia, voters must choose their president Thursday, August 12, between incumbent Edgar Lungu and his lifelong rival Hakainde Hichilema, at the end of a tense campaign, centered on the economy of the first African country to have defaulted on its debt.

The two main contenders have crisscrossed the landlocked southern African country, rich in copper, since May, despite a campaign limited by restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fourteen other candidates are also in the running, but the race is mainly between Edgar Lungu, 64, and Hakainde Hichilema, 59, a self-taught and charismatic businessman who is running for the sixth time.

Tighter than in 2016

The rising cost of living has eroded the incumbent president’s base of support, polls show, and the election could be tighter than in 2016, when Hakainde Hichilema, nicknamed “HH”, lost a little more 100,000 votes.

Edgar Lungu, a lawyer by training, is criticized for having borrowed unsustainably, especially from Chinese creditors, to finance a frenzy of infrastructure projects. Inflation soared to more than 20% under his presidency and at the end of 2020, Zambia became the first country in Africa to be in default since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Tensions erupted in the run-up to the vote, with sporadic violence between supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and those of the United Party for National Development (UPND) of “HH”, prompting Edgar Lungu to deploy the army . The opposition denounced this unprecedented gesture by qualifying it as an intimidation tactic, which the PF denies.

Results before Sunday

The president has also been increasingly harsh towards the opposition since his arrival at the head of state in 2015, raising fears of tensions in the event of contestation of the results, which should be known to the public. here Sunday night.

Some seven million voters are expected to vote in this country of 17 million. In addition to the president, they also vote for legislative and municipal elections. Offices open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. The winner must get more than 50% of the vote to avoid a second round, which observers consider unlikely.

“Let the Zambian people decide who will lead them,” said “HH” on the eve of the election, reiterating his promises to turn the economy around and calling on the electoral commission to guarantee a “free and fair” vote. Edgar Lungu said he was sure to get 500,000 more votes than his rival because “people know me now”.

The opposition accused the government of seeking to hamper the “HH” campaign, which the PF vehemently denied. Local and international observers will be scattered around the polling stations. The government has threatened to block the Internet if some “peddle falsehoods that could destabilize” the election.

With AFP