Zambia: Lungu inaugration on hold pending court petition

Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Tuesday his inauguration would be delayed until a court rules on a challenge from his main election rival who said the vote was rigged.

Lungu’s rival opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, popularly known as HH (Double H), said he would challenge the result, alleging fraud during the vote counting process after Thursday’s election.

In January the Zambian government made an amendment that says the winner of a presidential election cannot be sworn in if the vote is contested in a court. The court has two weeks to rule on the petition.

Lungu won 50.35 percent of the vote against 47.63 percent for Hichilema. Zambia has been one of Africa’s most stable democracies. The kwacha strengthened 2.5 percent on Tuesday, a sign that investors welcomed an outright winner in the election.