Opposition leader says Zambia election unlikely to be 'free and fair'

The mineral-rich southern African nation of 22 million people heads to the polls Thursday in a general election widely expected to hand incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema a second term

Zambia's opposition leader accused the government of tightening restrictions on his party's campaign, telling AFP on Wednesday that this week's election was on course to be neither free nor fair.

The mineral-rich southern African nation of 22 million people heads to the polls Thursday in a general election widely expected to hand incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema a second term.

"An election is a process and not an event. The process that we have undergone so far can only point to one thing and one thing only: the election will not be free and fair," Brian Mundubile, leader of the NRPUP party, told AFP in an interview.

An accountant and lawyer by profession, Mundubile served as a minister under the Patriotic Front (PF) party that was voted out of power in 2021.