By: Ollus Ndomu
Zambia’s longest serving opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema otherwise known as HH, was declared winner of the country’s presidency on August 16, after garnering more than 55% of the vote.
Hichilema, 59, had unsuccessfully ran for presidency for five consecutive times from 2006 when he joined active politics to lead the opposition United Party for National Development -UPND- after the death of its founding father, Anderson Mazoka.
The self-made millionaire was declared president–elect early Monday after accumulating over 2.8 million votes, defeating his closest rival, President Edgar Lungu who got 1.8 million votes.
Fondly called Bally (father) by majority young voters across the ten-province Southern African country, Hichilema has broken Zambia’s political record after ousting the authoritarian Lungu’s Patriotic Front -PF- regime with a million vote difference.
Outgoing President Lungu who in the last two weeks of the campaign period predicted that he would beat Hichilema with 500, 000 vote difference, accepted defeat on Monday after declaring the polls not free and fair.
Speaking in his address to a curious 18-million man nation, Lungu pledged a “peaceful transfer of power.”
In his concession speech, Hichilema thanked Lungu for accepting the election outcome but described the outgoing administration as a “brutal regime.”
Despite having been arrested for 15 times and spending 127 days in jail on tramped up 2017 treason charges under Lungu’s government, Hichilema said he would not seek retribution.
Four days before he is sworn-in as Zambia’s 7th Republican President, Hichilema has continued to preach ethnic and political unity including calling for an end to all political violence which characterized the run-up to the elections.
“It is indeed a new day. Change is here,” said Hichilema on Monday. “Let’s put the past behind us. We are not going into office to arrest those who arrested us … to replace those that have been very violent against our people only to start a new wave of violence.”
With swelling hopes among Zambians, the new president has also promised democratic reforms, investor-friendly economic policies, better debt management as well as “zero tolerance” to corruption.
The cattle rancher is taking over a country that is beset by high inflation, high debt, government corruption, youth unemployment and a soaring cost of living.
The Hichilema victory has caused euphoria among Zambians who have urged the new president to ban political cadresim and put an end to police brutality as some youths told AP during celebrations on Monday morning.
“For once I don’t have to run away from the police or soldiers. Things have indeed changed,” said Salma Mwewa, a Hichilema ardent supporter.
Zambians continue to celebrate the opposition victory with a high sense of expectation as law and order slowly returns in public places.
“We have been waiting for this for too long. There are many problems in Zambia so we will be patient with HH but we expect to see some change,” said Stali Boma, outfitted in the red UPND regalia.
The elections are over and now is the time for President Hichilema to demonstrate his competence to turn around Zambia’s nosediving economy.
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