9 hopefuls competing in Zambia’s presidential race

By Francis Maingaila

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) – Almost seven million voters will on Thursday go to the polls to elect Zambia’s next president from among nine candidates with the race expected to be fought between three main front-runners.

Although the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) certified nine candidates, pundits believe race is realistically limited only to three candidates from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF), the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) and the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD).

Centre for Policy, Research and Analysis director, Neo Simutanyi, told Anadolu Agency the three candidates have an equal chance of winning:

“The FDD has made remarkable progress in the recent past. With the increased support from the women's fraternity, who are the majority voters in Zambia, the FDD can pull off a surprise.”

Simutanyi, a former lecturer from the University of Zambia’s School of Political Science, observed that failure by the ruling PF to fulfill its 2011 campaign promises – which almost cost the party the 2015 presidential by-election – is working to the advantage of the opposition UPND.

According to Simutanyi, as the PF struggles to recover from its 2015 shock, the opposition is busy wreaking havoc in the ruling party’s strongholds, reminding the electorate of unfulfilled promises, particularly a lack of job creation.

“If it was not for the incumbency, the ruling party could have been ruled out of the race in favor of the opposition,” Simutanyi said.

-Front runners-

Edgar Chagwa Lungu

Being the incumbent makes President Lungu, a former justice and defense minister, one of the three front-runners in the 2016 race.

Lungu was elected PF president in Nov. 2014 and subsequently became presidential candidate for the Jan. 2015 by-election which saw him elected after narrowly defeating Hakinde Hichilema of the UPND to become Zambia’s sixth ruler.

Born in 1956, Lungu was a prominent lawyer and former military figure. In 2011, when the PF unseated the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), Lungu was elected as a member of parliament and held several portfolios, including that of deputy minister, in the office of the president.

Lungu will contest the 2016 presidency for the second time. Although favorite to win on Thursday, Lungu has an uphill battle to sway voters about PF failures to fulfill 2011 campaign promises. A weakening economy is also weighing down his chances of returning to power.

He will be relying on the reputation of late president Michael Sata to woo voters in the party's traditional strongholds.

Hakainde Hichilema

Hichilema, 54, a multi-millionaire businessman-turned-politician, is trying his luck for the fifth time to become Zambia’s president.

Hichilema says the country is suffering from economic mismanagement, corruption and incompetence by previous governments. Hichilema has promised to deliver an economic recovery, reduce poverty and provide free education.

Edith Nawakwi

Edith Nawakwi is the only female presidential candidate. In 1998, she became Zambia’s first woman finance minister. She also held several other portfolios, including agriculture and energy, under the MMD government.

Born in 1959, Nawakwi, a degree holder in Economics and Business Management, was expelled from the government after she opposed the third-term bid for late president Frederick Chiluba.

Nawakwi is a co-founder of the FDD, the party she served both as secretary-general and vice president. In 2005, she was the first woman in Zambia to be elected president of the FDD.

She is now vying for the presidency for the third time after failing to make it in 2011 and 2015. She launched her bid with a promise to not only improve economic management but also to fight corruption head-on. Nawakwi is banking on votes from female citizens to win the coming election.

-Other candidates-

Tilyenji Chanda Kaunda

Kaunda, 62, will contest the election for the United National Independence Party. Kaunda is the son of Zambia’s first republican president, Kenneth David Kaunda, who ruled the country for 27 years.

Kaunda became UNIP president in 2001 and will be running for the fourth time.

Wynter Kabimba

The Rainbow Party is fielding Wynter Kabimba, another prominent lawyer who is running for the first time.

Born in 1958, Kabimba, a former Lusaka City Town Clerk, resigned his position in 1995 to join active politics.

He became secretary-general of the opposition PF which unseated the ruling MMD in 2011. In 2013, he was appointed justice minister but was later fired from both positions.

In 2014, he founded Rainbow Party, promising to promote trade with all countries on an equal footing and introduce a socialist ideology in Zambia.

Saviour Chishimba

Saviour Chishimba, 42, president of the United Progress People is an expert in public health and former chairman of Zambia’s National Youth Development Council. Chishimba has pledged not only to change governance structures and promote agriculture on a mass scale but also to change Zambia's constitution.

Andyford Mayele Banda

Banda, 35, president of the People’s Alliance for Change, is running on an entrepreneurial ticket, hoping to develop job creation for thousands of unemployed youths.

Maxwell Mwamba

Mwamba is president of the left-wing opposition Democratic Assembly who also has promised to transform Zambia through trade.

Peter Sinkamba

Peter Sinkamba, an environmentalist, has promised to legalize the production and export of marijuana for medicinal purpose if elected.