Zambians vote on August 13 in a presidential election that looks, on paper, like President Hakainde Hichilema’s race to lose. The harder question is not only whether he wins, but what voters think his first term has actually delivered.
Hichilema came to power in 2021 after years in opposition, promising a cleaner, steadier government and a better economic path. He inherited a country still dealing with the damage of debt default, and his government has won praise from investors for pushing through restructuring and restoring some confidence in Zambia’s finances.
That matters in a country where the economy is never far from politics. Copper remains the backbone of Zambia’s exports, jobs and government revenue. If mines expand, power supply improves and investment turns into real work for ordinary people, Hichilema can argue that his approach is beginning to pay off.
But many voters are not judging the race from a spreadsheet. They are judging it from food prices, jobs, electricity cuts and whether life feels easier than it did five years ago. That is where the opposition sees an opening.
Brian Mundubile, leading a fragmented opposition field, is trying to turn frustration with the cost of living and slow job creation into a broader case against another Hichilema term. Other challengers may also pull votes from voters who want change but are not fully sold on the main opposition camp.
Still, Hichilema enters the campaign as the favorite. The opposition is divided, and the president can point to a country that looks more stable than it did when he took office.
The August vote will decide whether Zambians believe that stability is enough, or whether they expected more by now.
