(2 minutes read)
- In his debut address to the nation, the incoming president of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema slammed the southern African country’s outgoing “brutal regime” and at the same time he promised a “better democracy”.
- The president -elect is a business tycoon. The veteran opposition leader, who came very close to dethroning the outgoing president in the last two elections said his camp had been victims of a brutal regime that is exiting.
In his debut address to the nation, the incoming president of Zambia Hakainde Hichilema slammed the southern African country’s outgoing “brutal regime” and at the same time he promised a “better democracy”.
The president -elect is a business tycoon. The veteran opposition leader, who came very close to dethroning the outgoing president in the last two elections said his camp had been victims of a brutal regime that is exiting. The hectic campaign was dominated by the country’s economic woes and marred by sporadic violence. Hichilema garnered 2,810,757 votes against 1,814,201 for the incumbent Edgar Lungu. Lungu conceded defeat, and congratulated the winner.
The electoral commission proclaimed Hichilema president-elect in the early hours of Monday. Hichilema, 59, promised a better democracy respecting human rights, liberties and freedoms. Hichilema’s sixth bid for the top job and his third challenge to his bitter rival Lungu, 64, after losing to Lungu by a wafer-thin 100,000-vote margin in 2016.
