Luanda: Interior Minister Manuel Homem has been in Lusaka since Monday, where he will represent Angolan President Joo Louren§o at the inauguration ceremony of Zambia's re-elected President, Hakainde Hichilema. Manuel Homem was received at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport by Angola's Ambassador to Zambia, Albino Malungo.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the minister will attend Tuesday's inauguration of the President and Vice-President, scheduled to take place at National Heroes Stadium. Hakainde Hichilema was re-elected this month with 60.5 per cent of the vote, securing a second term in office at a time when Zambian authorities have identified consolidating macroeconomic stability and improving living conditions for the population as priorities.
The President, who ran as the candidate of the United Party for National Development (UPND), won in 123 of the 226 constituencies, while his main challenger, Brian Mundubile of the NRPUP, secured 37.9 per cent of the vote. The results show that Hakainde Hichilema increased his vote share compared with the 2021 election, from 2.85 million to 2.96 million votes.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) announced that a new parliamentary election will be held in the Mandevu constituency, although no date has yet been set, following an incident during the vote-counting process. According to the ECZ, unidentified individuals attacked the Mandevu constituency vote-counting centre in Lusaka during the tallying process, destroying results-transmission kits and taking electoral documents. The new parliamentary election is expected to take place after the legal and administrative procedures relating to the incident have been completed.
