More than eight million registered voters have 14 presidential candidates to choose from

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A spectre is hanging over the Zambian election campaign in the shape of former President Edgar Lungu.

Despite having died more than a year ago in South Africa, his body remains unburied amid a bitter dispute between President Hakainde Hichilema and the Lungu family that has sharpened political divisions.

This has had a role in energising support for the opposition National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), particularly in the northern half of the country, traditional strongholds of Lungu's Patriotic Front (PF), as people see it as offering the best chance to unseat the incumbent.

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Meanwhile, it has complicated the second-term bid of Hichilema and his United Party for National Development (UPND), which draws its core support from the south, west and north-west while seeking to expand its reach nationwide.

The political battle is playing out on the streets of the capital, Lusaka.

As the afternoon heat blazes across the city, the familiar hum of commerce hanging over the busy markets is overlayed with the sound of campaign songs and jingles.

Election posters are everywhere: from lamp posts and shop fronts to massive billboards, with faces of presidential and parliamentary candidates looming over passers-by.

All this as Zambia prepares for one of its most unpredictable elections in years.

On 13 August, more than eight million registered voters will get the chance to choose a president and a new parliament. Hichilema wants five more years after his 2021 landslide win over Lungu on a platform of change.

📰 Source: BBC Africa