He said the deployment is to maintain order before the vote, but the CPND says its campaigners have been unfairly targeted by police for allegedly being in breach of restrictions on political rallies due to the risk of coronavirus. On August 1, Lungu announced army troops had been deployed in the capital Lusaka and three other provinces to help prevent further political violence that has already left at least two people dead. At least 3,474 people have died.Īs election day nears, there is growing hostility between supporters of Lungu and Hichilema. Its health ministry has declared more than 199,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease over the course of the pandemic.
Zambia has also been badly hit by COVID-19. Zambia’s public debt stands at $19.3 billion – nearly 82 percent of the country’s total gross domestic product. Its recent recovery in July may be too late for Lungu to claim that he has been an effective steward of the country’s economy. The value of the kwacha steadily depreciated against the dollar throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021. The economy is one of the major issues for voters in this year’s election, with people struggling to get by amid high inflation. Seventeen other candidates are also in the running. Hichilema is making his sixth bid for the presidency. Incumbent Edgar Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) is seeking a full second term as president and is being closely challenged by Hakainde Hichilema of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND). But tensions between supporters of the two frontrunners remain high amid outbursts of political violence. Presidential candidates in Zambia’s general election on August 12 now have just a few days to appeal to voters.
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