Tag: Zambia poll

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.

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.

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.”

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.