Lusaka prepares for Hichilema inauguration as world leaders send congratulations
🇿🇲 BRIEFING | Lusaka prepares for Hichilema inauguration as world leaders send congratulations
President-elect Hakainde Hichilema is preparing to take the oath of office for a second term on Tuesday, September 1, as congratulatory messages continue to arrive from African and world leaders following Zambia’s August 13 general election.
The latest regional message has come from Botswana President Duma Boko, who said Hichilema’s re-election reflected the “trust and confidence of the Zambian people in his leadership and vision.”
Boko said Botswana joined Zambia in celebrating the milestone and pledged to work closely with Hichilema during his second term.
He said Zambia and Botswana share deep historical ties, common values and a commitment to peace, democracy and regional integration, expressing confidence that relations between the neighbouring countries would continue to deepen.
Hichilema has also received congratulations from Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kenyan President William Ruto, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who is also African Union chairperson.
Other messages have come from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
Governments including the United States and Nigeria have also communicated through their diplomatic missions, while congratulations have come from Nicaragua and other international partners.
Attention is now shifting from congratulatory messages to diplomatic representation at Tuesday’s inauguration.
Chinese President Xi has designated Xian Hui, Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, as his Special Envoy to attend the September 1 ceremony in Lusaka.
The decision gives China high-level representation at the inauguration at a time when relations between Lusaka and Beijing remain important to Zambia’s investment, infrastructure, mining, energy and debt agenda.
International institutions have also congratulated Hichilema. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva is among the institutional leaders who have sent messages, alongside Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey, AUDA-NEPAD chief executive Nardos Bekele-Thomas and leaders of other international organisations.
The diplomatic activity comes less than three weeks after Zambians voted in presidential, parliamentary and local government elections.
Hichilema defeated opposition candidate Brian Mundubile by more than one million votes and was subsequently declared President-elect, securing another five-year mandate.
Tuesday’s ceremony will formally begin Hichilema’s second term and shift attention towards the composition of his next administration and the policy programme he intends to pursue over the coming five years.
Hichilema has already identified reducing the cost of living and creating jobs as the two central priorities of the new term.
The inauguration will also provide an early diplomatic stage for the incoming administration. Zambia enters the new term balancing close regional relationships with major economic partnerships involving China, Western governments and multilateral financial institutions.
For Lusaka, the campaign has ended and the transition is approaching its final constitutional moment.
On Tuesday, the focus moves from the mandate Hichilema received at the ballot box to what he intends to do with it over the next five years.
© The People’s Brief | Ollus R. Ndomu