Zambia, one of the first African countries to embrace multi-party democracy, has become a place where criticism of the government is punished
Yet it is uncertain whether time is up for Mr Lungu . “The economy will determine how people will vote, but it may not determine the result,” says Laura Miti, the head of the Alliance for Community Action, anbased in the capital, Lusaka. Since 2000 roughly three-quarters of incumbent African presidents have won re-election, by hook or by crook. Many use the power of the state to buy off or bully voters.
Incumbent parties everywhere court voters with conveniently timed bungs. But few have bailed out their bureaucrats while also claiming that they have no money to pay their own creditors. In November the government defaulted on a dollar bond, making Zambia the first African country to do so during the pandemic. Not that covid-19 has much to do with the mess. Government debt as a share ofhas risen from 34% to 110% under Mr Lungu.
Zambia, one of the first African countries to embrace multi-party democracy in the 1990s, has become a place where criticism of the government is punished. The state forced the closure of an independent newspaper in 2016 and aloyalists storm critical local radio stations. In March 2020 the police arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly libelling Mr Lungu on Facebook. There are fears of an internet blackout when election results are reported.
Mr Hichilema, whom authorities have jailed 15 times during his political career, is making his sixth run for president. This is probably his best and last chance. In the past voters have been wary of his minority Tonga ethnicity and liberal policies. But ahead of this election, with the help of social media, he has presented himself as a unifying reformist.
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