Zambia will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on August 11 under a new constitution, a government spokesperson says.
President Edgar Lungu’s is expected to give the nod to the constitutional amendments on Tuesday, ratifying the election date, his spokesperson Amos Chanda said on Monday.
“The new constitution has a fixed election date and that will take effect as soon as the president signs,” said Chanda.
The elections are expected to be a tight contest between Lungu’s ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party and opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND).
Confident of victory under the previous constitution, the president set the election date every five years. Presidential candidates will run on a joint ticket with a vice-presidential candidate, unlike the present situation where the president appoints his deputy, Chanda said.
Other amendments include a clause requiring a winning presidential candidate to get more than 50% of the valid votes cast, he said.
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