(3 minutes read)
- Zambia’s newly-elected leader Hakainde Hichilema took over office on Tuesday (yesterday)after a comprehensive election victory
- Hichilema, 59, took the oath of office before a crowd that included opposition politicians from regional countries as well as current and former African leaders
- Hichilema defeated the incumbent Edgar Lungu, 64, by almost one million votes
Zambia’s newly-elected leader Hakainde Hichilema took over office on Tuesday (yesterday)after a comprehensive election victory. Hichilema, 59, took the oath of office before a crowd that included opposition politicians from regional countries as well as current and former African leaders.
Hichilema defeated the incumbent Edgar Lungu, 64, by almost one million votes. The victory is the 17th opposition win in sub-Saharan Africa since 2015, which many feel augurs well and is a testimony of growing faith in democracy in the region. Results were in favor of the opposition party, despite restricted campaigning and suspected rigging in favor of former president Lungu’s party. Voter turnout on August 12-the day election was held- was nearly 71 percent; Many Zambians queued late into the night to cast their ballots. Lungu and Hakainde Hichilema were neck-and-neck in both 2016 polls and a 2015 snap election.
Lungu’s popularity was sapped by unsustainable infrastructure spending that plunged the copper-rich southern African nation of over 18 million inhabitants into debt default. The local currency –kwacha- plummeted and inflation rose over 24 percent, rendering basic goods unaffordable in a country where more than half the population lived in poverty. The Zambian political story of a vibrant democracy is an eye opener to all.
