Zambia's Hichilema re-elected amid economic frustrations

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema was re-elected for a second term, but the opposition leader put in an unexpectedly strong showing, capitalising on public frustration with lingering hardships despite an economic turnaround.

Results released by the election commission in the early hours of Tuesday morning showed that Hichilema received roughly 60% of valid votes, compared with 38% for his main challenger Brian Mundubile.

It was Hichilema’s seventh run for the presidency, and he was widely expected to win due to the advantages of incumbency, while it was Mundubile’s first bid to become head of state.

Hichilema, 64, campaigned on his economic record since taking charge during a pandemic-era debt crisis in 2021, whereas Mundubile’s pitch to voters included that improving macroeconomic indicators had made little difference to their daily lives.

Copper-rich Zambia has been a focus of competition between China and the US for its critical minerals.

After a relatively quiet run-up to the August 13 vote, tensions escalated quickly.

On the night of the election, authorities arrested 11 people, including leading opposition figures in a raid that involved an exchange of gunfire, while Mundubile was present.

The next day, the electoral commission suspended vote-counting for hours due to reports of violence against polling staff and the theft of ballot papers.

Mundubile said he had received information about the possible alteration of results forms from polling stations and called for an urgent independent investigation, though Hichilema’s camp said he was lying.

The opposition is not expected to accept the results and could lodge a legal challenge, although it is unlikely to be successful, said Greg Musiker, Zambia analyst at advisory firm Signal Risk.

“While localised political violence is possible in the coming days, widespread unrest is not expected,” he added.