Africa Confidential places Lungu ahead of Hichilema
Lusaka-3rd August 2021
Africa Confidential has placed President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front (PF) ahead of Hakainde Hichilema of the Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) in the country’s general elections slated for 12th August, 2021.
Africa Confidential has stated that Lungu's lead could only be assailed by landslide for Mr Hichilema and the UPND which was not possible.
The Magazine stated that there appear to be nothing that would thwart President Lungu’s victory in the coming presidential and legislative elections.
The publication has dismissed reports circulating in Lusaka that the ruling Patriotic Front was planning to fix the polls including using cyber-warfare techniques for lack of evidence.
It has disclosed that Mr Hichilema has invested over US$5 million in his campaign in his attempt to emulate late President Michael Sata’s Parallel Voter Tabulation (PVT), the money essentially coming from the UPND leader’s backers.
Africa Confidential is one of the longest-established specialist publications on Africa, with a considerable reputation for being first with in-depth news and analysis on significant political, economic and security developments across the continent.
The publication however states that President Lungu is in a close electoral fight with his rival, Mr Hichilema who lost the last general elections by 100,000 votes.
President Lungu has nonetheless predicted that he would win the August 12 polls by more than 500,000 votes this time around.
According to Africa Confidential, President Lungu and the PF have scaled up their campaigns anchored on grand developmental projects among them, the social and economic successes such as the Debt Swap Scheme for civil servants and increased hydro power generation which has eliminated load shedding.
The publication says President Lungu could retain power because the governing party has been attracting the vote of the civil servants and farmers through news of hope and the expansion of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
The FISP has seen farmers particularly peasant farmers receive their farm inputs at a subsidized price and early distribution which has yielded the country consecutive pamper harvest in the last few farming seasons.
The publication explains that while President Lungu and the PF have been anchoring their campaigns on the successes scored in the economic infrastructure development such as roads, health and education infrastructure among the many, the opposition UPND and its leader, Mr Hichilema have been canvassing votes on the milieu of the crashing economy.
“Against a backdrop of falling support for President Edgar Lungu and a sliding economy, the Patriotic Front government is showering farmers and civil servants with handouts and good news stories in the hope of retaining power in the general election on 12th August.
President Lungu is in a close fight for the presidency with United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema, who lost by 100,000 votes in the last election in 2016,” the publication says.
It explains that on 23rd July, 2021, President Lungu inaugurated the US$2.3 billion Kafue Gorge Lower hydropower station and commissioning the first 150MW turbine which is planned generate an overall of 750MW.
Africa Confidential further states that the government has been boasting about the strengthening of the kwacha against the dollar as a sign that the economy would bolster in the next five years under President Lungu in the next life of the PF in government.
It says the Bank of Zambia has been citing the rising of copper prices, currently moving towards $10,000 per tonne, foreign appetite for government bonds and lower pressure on forex since the government entered sovereign default and stopped paying external creditors as some but the campaign messages for the vote.
However, the publication observes that the opposition has been claiming the flip of the Kwacha to higher mineral prices which has boosted the local currency.
