The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Hakainde Hichilema

  • 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’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.

     

  • 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.

  • Zambians begin voting amid tension

    Zambians began voting for a new president and legislators on Thursday in what is expected to be a bruising battle against the backdrop of lethargic growth as weak commodity prices have hit Africa’s second biggest copper producer.

    President Edgar Lungu and his main rival, Hakainde Hichilema, have both said they are confident of outright victory, but either of them could fail to garner more than half of the vote as required by electoral law, necessitating a second round.

    Voting got off to an anxious start at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) at one polling station in the capital, Lusaka, with police stepping in to control a few restive people waiting in a long queue that stretched almost half way around the block.

    “We’ve turned out to cast our votes in large numbers because that’s our right, to ensure that our future and that of our children is protected,” said Robinson Mwanza, 30, a construction worker who said he had joined the line at 4 a.m.

    Close by, a group of men huddled around a small fire, to try and ward off the morning chill.

    After a campaign marred by violence, Lungu and Hichilema on Wednesday made their final plea for votes in Lusaka, each pledging to steer the economy onto firmer footing.

    “I have been on probation for one year, six months and I think I have done very well. I promise to serve you even better,” Lungu told thousands of supporters at his final rally, referring to last year’s vote to replace late President Michael Sata in which he narrowly beat Hichilema.

    “And I promise to respect the results and I will not fight even one day, to remain in State House. But I will not allow somebody to come to State House (through) violence or intimidation,” he added.

    Supporters of Lungu’s ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND) have clashed in the run-up to the poll, forcing the electoral commission to suspend campaigning at one point.

    Tensions are high in what is otherwise one of Africa’s most stable democracies, as Zambians grapple with rising unemployment after mine closures, chronic electricity shortages and soaring prices of household goods.

    Economist-turned-businessman Hichilema says Lungu, a former lawyer, lacks the expertise to manage the economy.

    “The difference between PF and UPND is what we bring to the table, knowledge of the financial markets and economics,” Hichilema said on a radio programme on Wednesday.

    “We are business people. We understand the economy, this economy is broken.”

    Zambia is in talks with the International Monetary Fund on a possible financing deal, after conceding its budget deficit, which has averaged 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in the last two years, was unsustainable.

    Lungu insists the economic downturn was beyond his control given Zambia’s heavy reliance on copper exports, but that his government has made strides in commissioning new power plants and investing in diversifying the economy toward sectors like agriculture.

    To win, a presidential candidate will have to garner 50 percent of the valid votes cast, plus at least one additional vote, and a re-run must be held within 37 days if no one succeeds.

    Hichilema also says that with the police blocking several of his rallies and coverage by state media biased in favour of the ruling party, the election will not be free and fair. Lungu, however, insists the playing field has been level.

    “The probability of a contested election result is growing, which would undermine the credibility of the vote and trigger more widespread partisan violence,” said Robert Besseling, head of the EXX Africa think-tank.

  • Zambia holds general election August 11

    Zambia will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on August 11 under a new constitution, a government spokesman said on Monday.

    The elections are expected to be tight contest between President Edgar Lungu’s ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party and Hakainde Hichilema’s opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), Reuters reported.

    Lungu is expected to assent to the constitutional amendments on Tuesday, ratifying the election date, his spokesman Amos Chanda said.

    Under the previous constitution, the president set the election date every five years.

    “The new constitution has a fixed election date and that will take effect as soon as the president signs,” Chanda told Reuters.

    Other amendments include a clause requiring a winning presidential candidate to get more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast, he said.

    Presidential candidates will run on a joint ticket with a vice-presidential candidate, unlike the present situation where the president appoints his deputy, Chanda said.

     

  • Zambia holds presidential election

    Voting began on Tuesday for the next president of Zambia, one of Africa’s most promising frontier markets, in what shaped up as a tight race between a populist lawyer and a wealthy economist.

    Edgar Lungu, leader of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), is seen having a slight edge over main rival Hakainde Hichilema, a businessman whose United Party for National Development has won over the middle-class and investors, Reuters reports.

    With no reliable opinion polls, few experts are keen to call a clear winner in the contest to succeed President Michael Sata, who died in office in October aged 77.

    Lungu’s campaign has focused on tapping into the grassroots support base of Sata, a populist leader from the majority Bemba tribe who won over the working class by funding infrastructure projects in poor, rural areas.

    Hichilema, one of Zambia’s wealthiest businessmen known locally as “HH”, says his experience in the private sector will help him encourage foreign investment and diversify the southern African state’s copper-dependent economy.

    Zambia, the continent’s biggest copper producer after Democratic Republic of Congo, has been one of the world’s best performing economies in the last decade, averaging 6-7 percent growth as the mining sector boomed.

    But growth slowed to 5.5 percent last year, the International Monetary Fund says, and could ease further with the price of copper, which accounts for 70 percent of export earnings, falling to a six-year low this month.