Hichilema, 59, a millionaire and a Seventh Day Adventist church member, had to invite opposition party leaders to witness the inauguration after his landslide victory.
After five attempts at the presidency, Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UNDP) finally won the election, securing 2.8 million votes against Lungu’s Patriotic Front that garnered 1.8 million votes.
The August polls had over 70% voter turnout, making it the highest participation rate since the 1991 polls when Zambia held its first multiparty elections. Those below the age of 40 constituted over 50% of the electorate.
In 2018, the Lungu administration deported Zimbabwe’s Tendai Biti from Zambia for defying a court order; he had crossed the border to seek asylum. Biti was among eight opposition party leaders wanted for inciting public violence after there was a delay in the announcement of the July 2018
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