United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has congratulated President Hakainde Hichilema on assuming a new term of office as President of Zambia, reaffirming the world body’s commitment to supporting the country’s development priorities.
In his message, Guterres said the United Nations would continue working with the Zambian Government to advance national priorities aimed at strengthening and consolidating the country’s democratic gains. He further pledged UN support for Zambia’s efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and promote sustainable development for the benefit of all citizens.
The congratulatory message adds the UN to a list of international bodies and heads of state who have written to President Hichilema since his re-election, including the presidents of Austria, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea and the State of Palestine, the King of the Netherlands, and the Secretary-General of the Common Market for Eastern andPresident Hichilema secured his second term after the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) declared him winner of the August 13 general election, having polled 2,965,326 votes against 1,856,217 for his closest challenger, National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Mundubile. The result extended his mandate for a further five years.
The re-election caps a political rise that stretches back more than two decades. Hichilema, a businessman and former economic consultant before entering politics, contested the presidency five times before defeating then-President Edgar Lungu in August 2021, after years leading the United Party for National Development (UPND) in opposition.
That first victory followed a period in which Hichilema himself was detained and charged with treason in 2017 over an incident involving his motorcade in Mongu, spending more than 100 days in custody at Mukobeko Maximum Security Correctional Facility before the charges were dropped.
His first term in office, which began in 2021, was built around restoring investor confidence after Zambia’s 2020 sovereign debt default and negotiating debt restructuring with international creditors. That work culminated in the near-completion of Zambia’s debt restructuring programme and a return of the country to servicing its Eurobond obligations.
Guterres also congratulated Hichilema on his initial election in 2021, when the two met in New York and discussed strengthening cooperation between Zambia and the United Nations in support of the country’s development agenda. The African Union similarly recognised that first victory at the time, with the Commission’s chairperson commending both Hichilema’s election and the conduct of the outgoing administration in accepting the result.
The renewed UN pledge comes as several of Hichilema’s former political rivals, including Mundubile, remain in detention facing treason charges following the disputed August election, a case that continues to run alongside the wave of international recognition his re-election has drawn.
