Zambia’s government closed the country’s courts, preventing opposition parties from mounting legal challenges over this month’s disputed election. Candidates had until today to lodge their claims against the vote, won by incumbent Hakainde Hichilema: Experts have not questioned the ultimate result, but say the poll was marred by violence and government interference that likely affected the extent of Hichilema’s victory.
While Hichilema has overseen a turnaround of Zambia’s copper-rich economy, critics say he has also overseen a rapid erosion of democratic norms. Since the vote, authorities have summoned the main opposition candidate over what they say was a planned insurrection. “The repression of critics and opposition poses a risk to the nation’s democratic progress,” the Carnegie Endowment wrote last year.
