Zambia's Lungu faces tight election contest as debt crisis bites

FILE PHOTO: Zambia's President Edgar Chagwa Lungu addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia's President Edgar Lungu will seek to fend off a perennial opposition challenger in a vote on Thursday that may be decided by frustrated young voters amid economic turmoil and a pending bailout for one of Africa's most indebted nations.

Investors are closely watching the Aug. 12 vote in the major copper producer which had the continent's first pandemic-era sovereign default in November.