Biden Administration Official Congratulates Zambia’s President-Elect
Voice of America
The U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power congratulated Hakinde Hichilema Tuesday on his election as Zambia’s next president.
A statement released by the agency said Power and Hichilema discussed how the “vigilant oversight” of Zambian civil society of the electoral process ensured widespread confidence in the results, despite government forces blocking Hichilema from campaigning in several areas. The spokesperson said the two also discussed Hichilema’s plans “fighting corruption and strengthening democratic values, press freedom, and civil liberties.” Power and Hichilema pledged to work together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic “and accelerate Zambia’s economic recovery.” Hichilema’s victory over incumbent President Edgar Lungu in the August 12 vote was fueled by widespread discontent with the collapse of Zambia’s economy, which has been saddled by falling prices of copper, its chief export, rising inflation and unemployment.This undated handout photo taken by the UN Development Programme and released on May 28, 2024 shows locals digging at the site of a landslide at Mulitaka village in the region of Maip Mulitaka, in Papua New Guinea's Enga Province. This photo released by UNDP Papua New Guinea, shows a landslide in Yambali village, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, May 27, 2024. Authorities fear a second landslide and a disease outbreak are looming at the scene of Papua New Guinea's recent mass-casualty disaster.
Ali Larijani, left, and Saeed Jalili, right, are seen in this 2008 photo by Iranian state-approved news site Asr Iran in 2008. (Asr Iran) Iran's interim president Mohammad Mokhber speaks during the opening ceremony of Iran's 12th parliament in Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili attends an election debate at a television studio, in Tehran, Iran June 8, 2021. Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani attends a news conference at the Iranian embassy in Beirut's southern suburbs, as a picture of late Iran's Quds Force top commander Qassem Soleimani is seen in the background, Lebanon February 17, 2020. FILE - Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and the Russian Ministry of Transport Vitaly Savelyev during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2023. Iran's Presidency /WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Parviz Fattah, head of Iranian state-owned enterprise Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), is seen in this photo posted on the EIKO website on May 14, 2024. (EIKO)
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