Zambia to vote in elections, a southern African country rich in critical minerals

By JACOB ZIMBA Associated Press. LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) - Zambia holds an election Thursday to decide if President Hakainde Hichilema will get a second five-year term as reward for his economic recovery plan in the southern African nation that's one of the world's top copper producers but was recently mired in a debt crisis. Zambia defaulted on sovereign debt repayments to China and other nations in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing attention to the unsustainable burdens faced by some developing countries. Hichilema was elected a year later, and Zambia has restructured more than $12 billion in debts to other countries and private creditors under his leadership while reining in inflation and stabilizing the currency. His long-term economic plan involves a pledge to more than triple Zambia's copper output to 3 million metric tons a year by 2031 - a staggering rise that could put Zambia ahead of the United States and China in terms of global producers of the in-demand critical mineral. Hichilema won a presidential election in 2021, having lost in five votes before that stretching back to 2006. In a field that includes 13 other presidential candidates, analysts say Hichilema's strongest challenger will likely be Brian Mundubile, the leader of an opposition grouping called the Tonse Alliance. The 55-year-old Mundubile, who is a law graduate, was not considered a major political figure in Zambia but emerged in January as the leader of Tonse after it was embroiled in internal wrangles. While inflation has dropped and the value of Zambia's currency, the Kwacha, has improved under Hichilema, ordinary Zambians bemoan high food and energy costs. Some critics say the macroeconomic stability hasn't benefited most people in the landlocked country of some 22 million. Hichilema's rivalry with his predecessor, the late former President Edgar Lungu, was especially bitter and continued even after Lungu's death last year. Lungu died in South Africa in June 2025, prompting a macabre yearlong battle between Hichilema's government and Lungu's family over where the body should be buried. The government insisted it be repatriated for a state funeral, while the family said one of Lungu's last wishes was that he not have a state funeral presided over by Hichilema. The dispute, which fascinated Zambians, went to South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal. It ruled in favor of the family, though burial plans have still not been announced. Voters in the one-day election on Thursday will also choose lawmakers in Parliament and local government councilors. Around 8 million people are registered to vote. Zambia's presidential election works on the 50% plus one system where a candidate has to get an outright majority to win. That raises the possibility of a second round of voting if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote first time around.