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1 [1] (July 19, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbamh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Conresoa Reerhevc S July 19, 2019 Zambia The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked southern African country, has historically been politically stable and has held regular elections since a return to multiparty politics in 1991, after nearly two decades of one-party rule. The government reportedly uses the state legal apparatus to restrict opposition political activity and muzzle critics, however, curtailing the exercise of civic freedoms. Corruption is also a governance challenge, and Zambia faces economic headwinds. Since 2014, economic growth has slowed, while public debt has risen. U.S.-Zambian relations are cordial and center primarily on bilateral development cooperation, notably in the health sector. Politics: Background and Recent Developments Zambia has a presidential system with a unicameral parliament. The country has held multiple elections since 1991 and is rated Partly Free by the U.S. nonprofit Freedom House. Surveys by Afrobarometer, a think tank, suggest that the public supports free and fair elections, but a number of elections since 1991 have featured alleged irregularities and limited political violence. Fierce electoral competition and frequently polarized politics may account for an arguably antidemocratic current: Several recent governments, and the current one, have used presidential clout, state powers, and repressive laws to target political opponents and favor allies. Recent Elections Incumbent President Edward Lungu, of the Patriotic Front (PF), came to power after the 2014 death in office of his predecessor, Michael Sata (PF), whose term Lungu was elected to complete. Lungu then won election for a full term in 2016 by a slim margin, defeating his archrival, Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND), the main opposition party. The PF also holds a narrow majority (80 of 156 seats) in the parliament. General elections are next slated for 2021. The 2016 elections featured pre-poll violence, partisan PF use of state resources, state harassment of media that hosted the opposition, and the arguably questionable use of the Public Order Act-which governs public assembly-to hinder opposition political rallies. A UPND court case seeking to overturn the election was thrown out on a technicality, drawing criticism from the U.S.-based Carter Center. The UPND has since contended that the vote was fraudulent and that Lungu's tenure is illegitimate. Political Climate The ongoing politicized use of state authority has spurred some observers to warn of creeping authoritarianism under Lungu. Concerns over governance trends are reflected in reports by such organizations as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch, as well as the U.S. State Department's 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights https://crsrepo Practices report. The government also appears to use the award of state positions to help secure its agenda in parliament-nearly half of PF members in parliament hold ministerial posts-and has dismissed numerous allegedly pro-UPND public servants. Figure I. Zambia at a Glance Source: CIA, World Bank, and IMF reference databases. A range of opposition parties and individuals face state harassment, particularly the UPND and its leader, Hichilema. In 2017, Hichilema was charged with treason and held in a maximum security prison for months. The charges were suspended-just prior to a trial seen as having the potential to spur instability, given heated tensions over the case-but could be renewed. Hichilema has since faced other constraints on his political activity, and in late 2018 was detained for questioning after allegedly inciting riots by making remarks on the possible sale of a state-owned firm to Chinese interests during a radio interview. Freedom House reports that the latter incident could be used to disqualify Hichilema as a 2021 presidential candidate. Rule of Law and Press Freedom The judiciary also has faced periodic political pressure, notably in relation to election legal disputes and other political cases. In late 2018, Lungu warned of chaos should the Constitutional Court block his bid for a third term in 2021. Weeks later, the entirely Lungu-appointed court ruled unanimously that a two-term presidential tenure limit did not apply to Lungu with respect to the 2021 elections, as his first term had been a partial one. His eligibility had been a matter of heated contention since his 2016 election. While the press is lively and some privately owned media sources criticize the government, according to Freedom House, the state pressures the media to minimize opposition coverage. Many media outlets, notably government-aligned ones, reportedly comply and also self-censor. In recent years, authorities have routinely used tax, licensing, libel, and sedition laws to harass selected media outlets and curtail their activity, and PF supporters have periodically disrupted broadcasts airing opposition views. In April 2019, the PF-dominated parliament enacted a law ostensibly aimed at fostering government-opposition rts.congress gov

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