Zambia went to the polls Thursday with economic hardship testing President Hakainde Hichilema's record as he seeks a second term to govern the copper-rich nation.
Issued on: 13/08/2026 - 08:31
3 min Reading time
Zambia went to the polls Thursday with economic hardship testing President Hakainde Hichilema's record as he seeks a second term to govern the copper-rich nation. Polling stations in the southern African nation opened at 6:00 am local time and were due to close 12 hours later, with 8.7 million voters registered to cast their ballots. "Zambians are frustrated and this election is a 50-50, that is why we are all here early to make the change," said voter Mwiche Nalupumbwe, 26, among hundreds who braved the morning chill to queue at polling stations well before they opened. "It hasn't been the easiest five years," the development sector worker told French press agency AFP at Kabulonga, about eight kilometres (five miles) east of Lusaka. Hichilema, 64, won a first five-year term in 2021 on his sixth run for the post, and is betting on job creation and an ambitious infrastructure drive to secure re-election. While inflation fell to 6.8 percent in April and the kwacha currency has strengthened, many still face high food and energy costs. The country is long regarded as one of Africa's more stable democracies but has come under scrutiny over concerns that Hichilema's government has narrowed the space for dissent, even as it promises stronger economic recovery.
