Zambia: Hichilema re-elected president with 60% of the votes, according to the electoral commission.

Having come to power in 2021, Hakainde Hichilema secured an absolute majority against 13 other candidates. His main opponent, Bryan Mundubile, president of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), garnered 1,856,217 votes, or 38% of the ballots.

The Head of State expressed that he was “deeply touched” by the trust placed in him by voters. While his supporters, dressed in the colors of the Unified Party for National Development (UPND), celebrated in the streets of Lusaka, he also assured that he intends to work for the voters who chose the opposition.

The result gradually solidified as the counting progressed. Hakainde Hichilema is now expected to dedicate his second term to continuing the economic reforms initiated since his arrival in the presidency.

An Economic Record at the Center of the Campaign

The outgoing president campaigned on several indicators presented as signs of improvement in the economic situation. His team notably highlighted the decrease in inflation, the strengthening of foreign exchange reserves, and the creation of 50,000 jobs in the public sector.

However, these results came in a particularly challenging context. A few months before Hakainde Hichilema’s election in 2021, Zambia became the first African country to default on its external debt since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, the government has engaged in a process of debt restructuring and fiscal rebalancing.

The effects of these measures, however, remain barely perceptible for a portion of the population, who are facing the cost of living and a tense social situation. The opposition has also accused the government of restricting political space, particularly through acts of intimidation and what they consider arbitrary arrests.

Tensions Up to Election Day

The election took place in an unusually tense atmosphere for Zambia, often regarded as one of the most stable democracies in Southern Africa. The end of the campaign was marked by violence and the arrest of several opposition leaders.

Eleven people were arrested in the week leading up to the vote, including six opposition figures, according to the government. The authorities described the operation as a crackdown on a “suspected militia.”

The camp of Bryan Mundubile rejected these accusations. The party specifically claims that security forces raided the residence of its candidate and that a parliament member of the NRPUP was shot during the intervention.

These accusations have not been independently established in the available information. However, they are expected to fuel the opposition’s criticisms regarding the conditions under which the electoral campaign unfolded.