Zambia's president to be sworn in for second term while opponent detained

ByWycliffe Muia and Damian Zane.

Key points

• Hichilema – credited with stabilising the economy – swept to victory on 13 August with 60% of the vote, according to official results.
• The economy was declining, Hichilema informed the BBC in Lusaka before the election.
• According to Election observers, while polling day was largely peaceful, some have raised questions concerning the vote tallying process.
• Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, had gone into hiding.
• The former businessman negotiated a restructuring of the debt and rebuilt relations with foreign creditors.

Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema is due to be sworn in for a second five-year term on Tuesday after a disputed election and the arrest of his main opponent on treason charges.

Hichilema – credited with stabilising the economy – swept to victory on 13 August with 60% of the vote, according to official results. Runner-up Brian Mundubile. This person received 38%, alleged that the outcome had been tampered with.

He was unable to mount a legal challenge to the result as the courts were sealed off last week on the final day a case could be filed.

European Union observers remarked staff in numerous tallying centres did not record results on tally sheets as shortly as they were unveiled, and cited subdued verification between digital entries and paper records. It continued that returning officers frequently paused proceedings while awaiting instructions from headquarters.

For context, the day after the poll, security forces raided a property in the capital, Lusaka, linked to Mundubile, killing a former cabinet minister and arresting a number of opposition politicians.

In practice, the authorities accused the opposition of planning an armed insurrection. It they denied.

Mundubile and his running mate, Makebi Zulu, had gone into hiding. They were detained by police last week and charged at the weekend.

When Hichilema, 64, came into office in 2021 after a landslide victory, Zambia had lately defaulted on its international debt and had an annual inflation rate of more than 24%.

"We inherited a broken-down country. The economy was declining, " Hichilema informed the BBC in Lusaka before the election.

Meanwhile, the former businessman negotiated a restructuring of the debt and rebuilt relations with foreign creditors. Inflation has additionally come down, but costs are still rising and plenty of continue to struggle with the cost of living.

Hichilema now wants to build on the foundations he remarked he laid over the past five years.

Botswana President Duma Boko and Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan are among a number of African leaders anticipated to attend the inauguration ceremony at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka. Hichilema will be sworn in alongside his running mate, Mutale Nalumango. Ex-Zambian minister killed in security raid on opposition.

In practice, a burial row over Zambia's late president has turned its election into a hot contest. Aspiring female Zambian politicians were asked for sexual favours, official notes. Stone-throwing anger unnerves Zambia's 'fix-it' president.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

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