Zambia’s messy but decisive election: government shows strength; democracy shows weakness

Across southern Africa, sitting presidents have faced a wave of turnovers and electoral setbacks in the past few years. Malawi and Botswana saw opposition victories. In Namibia and South Africa, incumbents were re-elected, but with significantly smaller majorities. In Zambia, the Patriotic Front suffered a humiliating defeat in 2021 as voters reacted to poor economic performance. This resulted in a new government led by Hakainde Hichilema and his United Party for National Development.…