Zambia is preparing to inaugurate President Hakainde Hichilema for his second five-year term on Tuesday, a ceremony that comes against a backdrop of contested election results, treason charges against the main opposition candidate, and mixed assessments of the country’s nascent economic recovery.
According to official electoral commission results, Hichilema secured a decisive victory in the August 13 poll, capturing 60% of the national vote. His main challenger, Brian Mundubile of the opposition, finished second with 38% of ballots cast, but has rejected the outcome, claiming widespread tampering with the results. Mundubile was ultimately blocked from launching a formal legal challenge to the election, after court buildings were sealed off on the final deadline for filing petitions.
International observer missions have echoed some of the opposition’s concerns over procedural irregularities. While most observers acknowledged that voting proceeded largely without violent disruption on polling day, multiple teams flagged significant flaws in the national vote tallying process. A European Union observer mission noted that staff at numerous tallying centers failed to document results on official paper sheets immediately after they were announced, creating a gap between public announcements and formal records. The mission also reported widespread weak cross-verification between digital result entries and physical paper records, and found that local returning officers often paused counting operations for extended periods while waiting for guidance from electoral headquarters.
Tensions escalated sharply in the days after the poll. The day after voting concluded, Zambian security forces raided a Lusaka property linked to Mundubile. The operation left a former cabinet minister dead and resulted in the arrest of multiple opposition figures. State authorities claimed the raid was necessary to foil a planned armed insurrection by the opposition, a charge opposition leaders have firmly denied. After days in hiding, Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu were taken into police custody last week and formally charged with treason over the weekend.
For Hichilema, the inauguration marks the start of a new term built on the economic stabilization work he prioritized during his first term, which began in 2021. When the 64-year-old former businessman first took office following a 2021 landslide win, Zambia was grappling with a recent default on its international sovereign debt and annual inflation that surpassed 24%. In pre-election comments to the BBC, Hichilema emphasized the depth of the crisis his administration inherited, describing the country as broken and the economy as steadily declining.
Over his first term, Hichilema’s government successfully negotiated a major restructuring of Zambia’s outstanding debt and repaired frayed relations with international creditors. Inflation has also been pulled down from the extreme highs recorded in 2021, though persistent price growth continues to place heavy cost-of-living pressure on ordinary Zambians, many of whom still struggle to afford basic goods and services. Ahead of his inauguration, Hichilema has signaled he will focus on expanding on the economic foundations laid during his first five years in office.
The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to take place at Lusaka’s National Heroes Stadium, with a number of regional heads of state in attendance. Confirmed guests include the presidents of Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Tanzania, among other African leaders. Hichilema will be sworn in alongside his vice presidential running mate, Mutale Nalumango, who will also begin her second term in office.