Zambia President Hichilema wins re-election with 60% of vote

Aug 17, 2026

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has secured a second five-year term, winning approximately 60% of the vote in the August 2026 election. While Hichilema campaigned on stabilizing the copper-rich nation's economy since its 2020 debt default, challenger Brian Mundubile capitalized on public frustration over high living costs. The election was marred by the brief suspension of vote counting due to violence, the deployment of the army, and the arrest of 11 opposition figures.

Hichilema re-election victory

▪Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema won re-election for a second five-year term on August 18, 2026, securing approximately 60% to 61.4% of the vote.
▪Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile, making his first bid for the presidency, finished second in the August 2026 election with approximately 38% of the vote.
▪Electoral Commission of Zambia chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis officially declared Hakainde Hichilema the president-elect on August 18, 2026.

Election violence disruptions

▪The Zambian government deployed the army to parts of Lusaka following the suspension of vote counting, drawing concern from the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops.
▪On the night of the August 13, 2026 election, Zambian authorities arrested 11 people, including leading opposition figures, during a raid involving gunfire at a property where Brian Mundubile was present.
▪The Electoral Commission of Zambia suspended vote counting for several hours following the August 13, 2026 election due to reports of violence against polling staff and the theft of ballot papers.

Opposition fraud allegations

▪Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile alleged that results forms from polling stations were altered and called for an urgent independent investigation into the election's integrity.
▪European Union election observers stated that while the August 2026 Zambian election was largely peaceful, late legal changes, legal uncertainty, and unequal campaign conditions distorted the playing field.

Economic record under Hichilema

▪Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema pledged to more than triple Zambia's copper production to 3 million tons annually by the end of his final term in 2031.
▪Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema campaigned on his economic record since taking office in 2021, during which Zambia restructured its debt payments, reined in inflation, and stabilized its currency.

Public frustration with hardships

▪Despite macroeconomic improvements under Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, ordinary Zambians expressed frustration with a high cost of living and persistent electricity shortages.
▪Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile capitalized on public frustration by arguing that improving macroeconomic indicators had made little difference to the daily lives of ordinary citizens.

US-China competition for minerals

▪Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper producer, is the focus of geopolitical competition between China, which dominates its mining sector, and the United States, which seeks critical mineral access.
▪Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema's government clashed with the United States in 2026, accusing the Trump administration of demanding access to Zambia's critical minerals in exchange for health aid.