Zambian incumbent President and United Party for National Development (UPND) presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema casts his ballot at the Kabulonga Boys Secondary School polling station in Lusaka on August 13, 2026.[AFP]
Zambians went to the polls Thursday in an election focused on economic hardships in the copper-rich nation, where President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking a second term.
Voters queued from early morning to cast their ballots in a test of Hichilema's first five years, during which the economy returned to growth that critics say has yet to reach ordinary households.
His government also faces charges of narrowing the space for dissent, with the opposition claiming harassment and restrictions on its campaigning, and rights group Amnesty warning of "authoritarian practices".
"After doing the heavy lifting, such as debt restructure, restoring the mining sector, now we want a step change in the growth so that we can take care of society," Hichilema, 64, said after casting his ballot.
"We have embarked on reforms that have delivered results even under challenges such as drought, debt burden," he said, adding, "There is a lot more to be done."
Africa's second-largest copper producer, Zambia defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2020.
Since then, the government has secured a debt restructuring, completed an IMF-supported programme and set an ambitious 2031 target to triple production of copper, crucial to the green-energy transition.