Africa is entering a more consequential second half of 2026 — elections are testing reforms, currencies are stabilising unevenly, investors are returning to African debt, inflation is proving sticky and capital-market gains are creating new pockets of wealth.
Here are the stories shaping the week
Zambia votes Thursday as economic reforms face voters’ verdict
Zambians head to the polls on Thursday, August 13, in a presidential and parliamentary election that will test whether President Hakainde Hichilema’s economic reforms have delivered enough progress to secure him a second and final term. Hichilema, 64, who defeated former president Edgar Lungu in 2021, remains the favourite, but a newly assembled opposition alliance led by former Patriotic Front lawmaker Brian Mundubile has made the contest more competitive than expected.
Why it matters: The result will determine the direction of Zambia’s economic reforms, debt-management strategy and investor policy at a time when households are still grappling with economic hardship. A change in government could also alter the pace and priorities of reforms that have reshaped Zambia’s relationship with creditors and international investors.
