The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Edgar Lungu

  • Zambian leader denies threatening Catholic Bishops

    Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Friday denied reports that he threatened the Catholic Bishops over their statement on the current political situation in the country.

    On Sunday, the Catholic Bishops issued a statement in which they expressed concern over the political situation in the country following the arrest of the country’s leading opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, who has been charged with treason.

    The bishops expressed concern, among other things, the continued use of state institutions by the government to intimidate and silence opposing voices.

    On Thursday, some online publications reported that Lungu threatened the bishops and that he will be forced to ban the church in Zambia as it was a threat to peace.

    Presidential Spokesperson Amos Chanda dismissed the reports, saying Lungu did not issue any statement threatening the bishops.

    “Ordinarily, it is not the culture of State House to respond to any social media stories, however, false, but given the fairly objective disposition Zambia Reports have shown over the years.

    “A real possibility exists that the falsehood it has published maybe be construed by the unsuspecting public to be the truth,’’ he said in a statement released on Thursday.

    He, however, said Lungu had noted the concerns raised by the bishops and that he will in due course engage the church to discuss any matters of national interest.

  • Zambian president threatens to declare state of emergency

    President Edgar Lungu of Zambia on Friday threatened to declare a state of emergency if people do not stop setting ablaze public properties in the wake of the arrest of the country’s leading opposition leader.
    Lungu said he will be forced to declare a state of emergency unless people stopped damaging pubic property.
    “Police, look out for these rabble rousers and trouble makers and bring them to book. You are forcing me to consider a state of emergency,” Lungu is quoted by the News Diggers when he addressed supporters.
    The Zambian leader however said the state of emergency would only apply to areas where there was trouble and not the entire country.
    Zambia has witnessed sporadic fires where public buildings have been set ablaze since the arrest of Hakainde Hichilema who has been slapped with a treason charge.
    On Thursday, the police warned people behind the fires that their days were numbered as they will soon be arrested.
    The police suspect the fires were deliberately started to cause panic and alarm in the country.
    Meanwhile Lungu laughed off claims that he will step down following the intense political environment caused by the arrest of the opposition leader.
    Lungu narrowly emerged winner of last year’s elections which have been disputed by the main opposition leader.

  • Zambia president sworn in

    Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Tuesday after being sworn in for a new five-year term that he would focus on unlocking agricultural potential in his tropical nation to reduce its dependence on copper mining.

    Zambia’s Supreme Court on Monday rejected an application by the main opposition party to stop President Lungu’s inauguration after last month’s contested election.

    Lungu said Zambians should put the divisive elections behind them and work as one to develop the country.

    “Elections have the ability to bring out the most selfish aspects of our humanity. On my part I have learnt that there is no time and latitude to settle scores,” Reuters quoted Lungu as saying in his inaugural speech at the National Heroes Stadium.

    “We must promote agriculture to become one of the main drivers of our diversification programme.”

    Lungu’s inauguration after the August 11 election was postponed because opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema challenged the result in court, saying the vote was rigged.

    A law introduced in January said the winner of a presidential vote cannot be sworn in if their victory is contested in court.

  • Zambia’s court refuses to block Lungu’s inauguration

    Zambia’s High Court has rejected an application by the main opposition party to block President Edgar Lungu’s inauguration set for next week after last month’s contested election, his lawyers said on Friday.

    Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) leader, Hakainde Hichilema, had petitioned the court to overturn a Constitutional Court decision not to give him more time to legally challenge Lungu’s re-election.

    He said the August 11 vote was rigged, a charge Lungu denies.

    “The court has refused to block the inauguration. The High Court has no power to block a decision of a higher court,” Reuters quoted Lungu’s lawyer, Tutwa Ngulube, as saying to reporters.

    Hichilema’s lawyer Keith Mweemba said the UPND would pursue the case in the Supreme Court.

    Lungu has led the ruling Patriotic Front since his predecessor Michael Sata died in 2014. He won the presidency in January 2015, defeating Hichilema in their first election confrontation.

    Zambia is Africa’s second-largest copper producer, but its economy has been hit by a slump in commodity prices, leading to mine closures and exacerbating its already high unemployment.

     

  • Zambia’s Lungu to be sworn in September 13

    Zambia’s Edgar Lungu will be sworn into office for a new five-year term next week, a government official said on Monday.

    “The government said it would proceed with the inauguration as the Constitutional Court has missed a 14-day deadline to rule on the opposition’s legal challenge to the presidential vote,” Reuters quoted Secretary to the Cabinet, Roland Msiska, as saying in a statement.

  • Election petition delays Zambian president’s inauguration

    Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Tuesday his inauguration would be delayed until a court rules on a challenge from his main election rival who said the vote was rigged.

    Results on Monday showed Lungu narrowly won re-election in Africa’s second-largest copper producer which is suffering economic slump due to depressed commodity prices, Reuters reported.

    But his rival, opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, said he would challenge the result, alleging fraud during the vote counting process after Thursday’s election.

    Police said about 150 protesters have been arrested in opposition strongholds in the southern African country, while one ruling party supporter was detained on Monday after torching a police vehicle during celebrations.

    A rule introduced in January said the winner of a presidential election cannot be sworn in if the vote is contested in a court, which has two weeks to decide on such a petition.

    Wearing a white T-shirt with the victory symbol and the words ‘I love peace’ on it, the president told his supporters at a victory rally in the capital Lusaka: “We will have to wait before I am sworn in because I am told some people have gone to court. The courts of law are our creature and so the courts should be given latitude to make decisions.”

    Lungu won 50.35 percent of the vote against 47.63 percent for Hichilema.

    Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND) said on Monday it will appeal the result at the Constitutional Court.

  • Zambian police arrest opposition protesters after disputed poll

    At least 133 people have been arrested in Zambia for protesting the re-election of President Edgar Lungu after his main opponent Hakainde Hichilema said the vote was rigged, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.

    Lungu scraped home on Monday in a tight contest to rule over Africa’s second-largest copper producer which has suffered economic slump due to depressed commodity prices.

    “They targeted perceived supporters of the ruling party, destroying their property,” southern province police Chief, Godwin Phiri, told Reuters.

    “It is like this was well planned and they were just waiting for the winner to be declared. Calm has now returned following the arrests,” he added.

    Zambia has been one of Africa’s most stable democracies although there were skirmishes during campaigning. The kwacha strengthened 2.5 percent on Tuesday, in a sign investors welcomed an outright winner in the election.

    Lungu won 50.35 percent of the vote against 47.63 for Hichilema. If any candidate had won less than 50 percent it would have led to a run-off.

    Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND) said it will appeal the result at the Constitutional Court, accusing election officials of fraud during the count which began after voting ended last Thursday.

    “The PF has effected a coup on Zambia’s democratic process,” Hichilema said in a statement late on Monday.

    “We submitted evidence before the declaration of the results regarding the gross irregularities that had taken place. That is why we will not accept the result.”

     

  • Lungu leads in Zambia presidential poll

    President Edgar Lungu was leading in Zambia’s presidential election on Monday, with 85 percent of the constituencies counted, but his main rival demanded a recount in a key district, citing irregularities.

    Lungu faces a stiff challenge from United Party for National Development (UPND) leader, Hakainde Hichilema, who accused him of running the economy down, a charge the president has rejected.

    With 50.14 percent, Lungu was ahead of Hichilema, with 47.7 percent, after results were collated from 132 of 156 constituencies in the August 11 voting, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) told a news conference.

    But Hichilema told a separate media briefing his party wanted a recount of votes in Lusaka district “for the sake of free, fair, credible and transparent elections.”

    “The question is will the elections be defined as free and fair, transparent and credible in this environment? My answer is no,” Reuters quoted Hichilema as saying at the briefing.

    “Zambia needs to remain peaceful. Anybody seeking political office wants to make sure that they take over a country that is peaceful and stable so that you can implement your vision.”

    The winner of the presidential election in one of the most stable democracies in Africa must get more than half the vote, failing which the top two candidates face a rerun.

    The UPND said on Saturday that data from its own parallel counting system showed Hichilema beating Lungu “with a clear margin,” based on about 80 percent of votes counted.

  • Opposition candidate leads in Zambia poll

    Zambia’s main opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, took an early lead over President Edgar Lungu on Saturday in a tight election battle as the key copper producer’s economy stutters due to weak commodity prices.

    The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) delayed announcing the first results on Friday, saying audits were taking longer than expected mainly due to a large voter turnout.

    It denied charges by Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND) that it was dragging its feet in order to manipulate the results in favour of Lungu’s Patriotic Front (PF).

    Reuters reported that data from eight of Zambia’s 156 constituencies showed businessman Hichilema in the lead with 47,706 votes after Thursday’s election, against 41,572 for Lungu.

    Voter turnout currently stood at 57.55 percent, far above the 32 percent recorded early last year when Lungu narrowly won an election to fill the vacancy left by the death of then president Michael Sata.

  • Zambian President reverses decision to hike electricity tariffs

    Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu has reversed a sharp increase in electricity tariffs aimed at generating revenue for investment in additional supply.

    He said the hike had ended up hurting the poor, a presidential spokesman said on Monday.

    Zambia’s state power utility -Zesco Ltd – had on Dec. 3 increased the average price of electricity to 10.35 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour from six U.S. cents.

    “The president directed Zesco to revert to the old tariffs until measures are put in place to ensure that poor consumers are protected,” presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said.

    Mining companies were unaffected by the increase because they have separate bulk power supply agreements with Zesco and power supplier Copperbelt Energy Corp (CEC).