Zambia Vote Counting Resumes After Brief Suspension Over Violence

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Zambia Vote

Zambia Vote Counting Resumes After Brief Suspension Over Violence

Zambians are awaiting further official tallies in the general elections held on Thursday as vote counting continued early Saturday following a temporary nationwide suspension the previous day. The Electoral Commission of Zambia resumed the process after reporting that security threats involving attacks on polling officials and the theft of some marked ballot papers had been contained, with heightened security including riot police and soldiers deployed around key sites in Lusaka.

President Hakainde Hichilema, seeking a second five-year term, holds an early lead in the limited results released so far from a handful of the country’s 226 constituencies. Initial figures from roughly two percent of constituencies showed him securing around 70 percent of valid votes counted against about 30 percent for main challenger Brian Mundubile, though officials cautioned that these early returns are not nationally representative and tend to cluster geographically. Full presidential, parliamentary and local results are still expected by Monday.

The elections tested Hichilema’s economic record after he steered Zambia through debt restructuring and stabilization following a 2020 default. Voters also faced persistent high living costs and unemployment, issues that featured heavily in the campaign. Fourteen candidates appeared on the presidential ballot, but the race centered on Hichilema of the UPND Alliance and Mundubile of the opposition Tonse-Pamodzi alliance. A candidate requires more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright and avoid a runoff.

Mundubile claimed victory on Friday based on parallel tabulations from polling stations, while Hichilema described the results reaching his camp as encouraging and called on citizens to remain peaceful and patient. The commission has urged all candidates to refrain from declaring themselves winners ahead of official announcements. About 8.8 million people were registered to vote across more than 13,500 polling stations, with voters also choosing members of parliament under a mixed electoral system and local representatives.

Security remained elevated around tallying centers as counting proceeded, with no major unrest reported after the brief interruption. The outcome will determine whether Hichilema secures another term or whether the opposition can force a change in Africa’s second-largest copper producer.