{"id":318,"date":"2026-08-18T13:46:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/?p=318"},"modified":"2026-08-18T13:46:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:46:56","slug":"hichilema-re-elected-as-zambias-president-for-second-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/?p=318","title":{"rendered":"Hichilema Re-elected as Zambia\u2019s President for Second Term"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LUSAKA, Zambia \u2014 Zambia\u2019s President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term after securing approximately 60 per cent of the valid votes cast in the country\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Electoral Commission of Zambia declared Hichilema the winner on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, following the August 13 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His closest challenger, Brian Mundubile, finished second with about 38 per cent of the vote.The victory gives Hichilema, who first took office in 2021, another five-year mandate to lead the southern African nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He campaigned on his administration\u2019s economic record, including efforts to restore Zambia\u2019s finances following the country\u2019s 2020 debt default and attract investment into the mining sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the election was not without controversy. Vote counting was temporarily suspended after election officials were attacked and marked ballot papers were reportedly stolen at some polling stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Electoral Commission later said the security situation had been brought under control and counting resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mundubile and his allies had raised concerns about the conduct of the election and alleged irregularities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> Hichilema\u2019s supporters, however, maintained that the election reflected the will of the Zambian people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hichilema now begins his second term facing pressure to translate the country\u2019s economic recovery into improved living standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite progress in debt restructuring and economic stability, many Zambians continue to face high living costs and electricity shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The re-election marks another chapter in Zambia\u2019s political transition, with Hichilema set to remain at the helm until 2031.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002065005.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002065005.jpg 960w, https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002065005-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1002065005-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LUSAKA, Zambia \u2014 Zambia\u2019s President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term after securing approximately 60 per&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions\/322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blazepointmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}