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Free, fair elections bedrock of democracy

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has said having free, fair and transparent elections is a foundation of democracy in any country.

Mr. Hichilema said a country could never be truly democratic without having interval selection of leaders in a free, fair and transparent manner.

He said this when a he chaired the plenary discussion on democracy delivering strong institutions at the ongoing Summit for Democracy.

Mr Hichilema said free access to the media by all political players, respect if the rule of law and having and level playing field for all political parties taking part in an election is critical in strengthening democracy.

“The major question that we need to answer here, do countries need strong institutions or do they need strong leaders to enhance democracy,” he said.

He said countries have made progress in their democratic dispensation however there were still detrimental actions that may affect the dispensation of democracy.

Mr Hichilema said Zambia is a symbol democracy because he was the Seventh president and from all the Seven four of those have come from different political parties with peaceful transitions in all the four.

And speaking on another plenary, Prime minister of India Narendra modi said democracy is not just about the structure but it is spiritual because show that each and every person in the world is equally important.

 Mr Modi allowing the freedoms of people encourages development that was why today India was the fastest growing economy because the people were free to participate in business.

He said democracy can deliver that is why democratic countries thrive in most sector of life.

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