Zambia’s main opposition, United Party for National Development, said the Supreme Court had rejected its application to stop President Edgar Lungu’s inauguration, set for Tuesday. Lungu said Zambians should put the divisive elections behind them and work as one to develop the country. “We admire you. You are our great friends, our great brothers and sisters and must continue”, he said.
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Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since the end of white minority rule in 1980 and has been accused of vote-rigging in the past, described Lungu’s victory as “a reflection of the will of the people”.
President Lungu’s running mate, Vice President Inonge Wina, will also be sworn in as Vice President.
Lungu had averted a runoff election by winning just over 50 percent of the votes, but the opposition under challenger Hakainde Hichilema alleged there were polling irregularities and went to court.
The incumbent president was ahead of barely with 100,000 votes.
Lungu, 59, first took office previous year after beating Hichilema in a snap election, and has since faced falling prices for copper – the country’s key export – soaring unemployment and inflation rising to over 20 percent.
The inauguration has been caught in the trappings of the newly amended constitution where it could not take place until any challenges in the court of law were disposed of.
Lungu, a trained military officer and lawyer, has used his short stint in office to present himself as the rightful heir to Sata, who enjoyed widespread popularity. Democratic states are peaceful.
On social issues, Lungu revealed a conservative side after the arrest of two Zambian gay men in 2013. “That issue is foreign to this country”.
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Zambia, a British colony until 1964, recorded GDP growth of 3.6% previous year – its slowest rate since 1998.
