from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc is under increasing pressure to intervene in Zambia, where the government is accused of flouting democracy.
Days after the official opposition appealed to the bloc, a smaller opposition party wrote to SADC, accusing President Hakainde Hichilema and the United Party for National Development (UPND) of vote rigging ahead of next year’s elections.
Pumulo Situmbeko, leader of the New Era Democratic (NED) party, has written to SADC.
The correspondence is additionally addressed to South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, Chairperson of SADC, and Malawi’s Arthur Peter Mutharika, chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Situmbeko accuses Hichilema of engaging in “schemes to steal votes for the largest opposition political party in Zambia, the Patriotic Front (PF).”
She alleges the president is “violating human rights, has abandoned the Rule of Law and his plans to steal the 2026 elections are intense and far advanced.”
Situmbeko noted international bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights Council and the United States Human Rights Country Report, had documented serious and escalating governance concerns in Zambia, characterized by shrinking democratic and civic space, political intolerance, suppression of freedoms of assembly, association, expression and the media as well as decline in the rule of law and judicial independence.
NED alleges Registrar of Societies interference in NED affairs, weaponization of law enforcement, dictatorship legislation, politicisation of public service, compromised Independence of the electoral body, recent attacks on opposition offices and detention of opposition leaders.
“These actions violate the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, which uphold democracy, human rights, multiparty competition, transparency, and the rule of law,” Situmbeko stated.
The leader noted Zambia had long been a beacon of peace and stability in the SADC region.
“However, unless immediate steps are taken to reverse the current trajectory, the nation faces escalating risks to electoral integrity, democratic governance and social cohesion.”
Hichilema and UPND have been in power since 2021. They were formerly the opposition.
SADC, a 16-country bloc, is currently besieged by the coup in Madagascar and recurrent standoffs in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, among others.
– CAJ News