Polls open in Zambia presidential election as economic reforms tested

Polls have opened for Zambia’s presidential election, in which President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking a second term.

Zambians began voting on Thursday morning at 6am (04:00 GMT) in the race dominated by economic concerns.

Polls are set to close 12 hours later, with 8.7 million people registered to cast their ballots.

The vote will test whether economic reforms introduced by Hichilema’s government have been enough to overcome widespread concerns over a rising cost of living.

More than 70 percent of Zambia’s 22 million people live on less than $3 a day, according to World Bank data.

While inflation fell to 6.8 percent in April and the kwacha currency has strengthened, many still face high food and energy costs. The unemployment rate is about 10 percent.

Long regarded as one of Africa’s more stable democracies, Zambia has come under scrutiny over concerns that Hichilema’s government has narrowed the space for dissent even as it promises stronger economic recovery.

The 64-year-old tycoon won a 2021 election on his sixth attempt and is betting on job creation and an ambitious infrastructure drive to secure a final five-year term.

His main challenger in a field of 13 other hopefuls is Brian Mundubile, a former minister in the Patriotic Front (PF) government that ruled from 2011 to 2021.

Backed by an alliance of opposition parties, Mundubile, 55, is running under the newly formed NRPUP party, which draws much of its political base from the former governing party.

He entered the race in May, injecting uncertainty into a contest that had long appeared to be Hichilema’s to lose.

Speaking to the AFP news agency on Wednesday, Mundubile said the government had tightened restrictions on his party’s campaign and he did not see the election as being free and fair.

He said an opposition victory would begin with “a national reset” and reconciliation in a country he described as deeply divided. “There’s very little development you can do with a divided country,” he said.

Voters will on Thursday also elect candidates for 226 parliament seats, up from the previous 156.

Voting has traditionally followed regional lines, with Hichilema’s party strongest in the south and west, and the PF retaining pockets of support in the north and Copperbelt.

Results of the presidential vote are expected by August 17. The winner needs more than 50 percent of votes to avoid a run-off.