Zambia’s presidential and legislative elections are scheduled for August 13, according to africacenter.org. Incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking a second term after winning 59 percent of the vote in the previous election, following multiple prior attempts. Edgar Lungu, who served as president from 2015 to 2021, was marked by the arrest of political opponents, the weakening of judicial independence, the deployment of security forces and party militias to intimidate opponents, and the politicization of independent government bodies. There is a danger that voters see the August election outcome as shaped by legal manoeuvring rather than the ballot.