Zambia Election: Observers Concerned Over Threats and Violence

Vote counting in Zambia's presidential election was temporarily suspended on Thursday (August 13) due to security threats to the electoral process, according to international observers.

Observer missions, including those from the European Union (EU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), on Saturday (August 15) called on all parties to reduce inflammatory statements while counting continued.

The counting was paused on Friday (August 14) following reports of violence against election officials and allegations of ballot theft. It resumed a few hours later after the electoral commission said "the security threat to the electoral process has been contained," Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa reported from the capital, Lusaka.

Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is seeking a second term as the candidate of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND). His main challenger is Brian Mundubile, a 55-year-old former minister in the previous Patriotic Front (PF) government, running as the candidate of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP).

Mundubile said the suspension "raises legitimate concerns," warning that delays in counting could "create an opportunity for interference and manipulation of results."

The UPND rejected the allegation. Mark Simuuwe, Hichilema's campaign communications director, told Al Jazeera that the opposition was "panicking," stressing that the results are "legitimate" and accusing Mundubile's party of causing "chaos."

'Uncertainty and anxiety'

Samuel Tembenu, Malawi's former justice minister who heads the SADC observer mission, said his team "was unable to observe the counting and collation of results during the suspension," adding that the mission would address the incident in its final report.

"The mission at this juncture calls on all candidates, their supporters, and all stakeholders to remain calm," he said.

Tembenu added that the suspension had caused "uncertainty and anxiety," and said the mission had received reports of threats, assaults, abductions, and property damage in five provinces, though it could not independently verify them. Some reports indicated injuries and at least one death.

Michael McNamara, head of the EU observer mission in Zambia, said: "The Zambian authorities must fully explain the reasons behind the decision" to suspend counting. He also noted the vote took place in "a context of shrinking democratic space," alluding to the advantages of incumbency and what he described as biased coverage by state media.

Reinhold Lopatka, head of the European Parliament observer delegation, suggested the suspension seemed "disproportionate" given that only a small fraction of Zambia's more than 13,000 polling stations were affected.

He said his delegation was told that opposition figures were threatened, including by security forces, some candidates withdrew under pressure, and opposition protests were violently dispersed. "Even one death is too many," he added.

Zambian police said they had arrested nine people in connection with the killing of a 57-year-old election official on election day in a Lusaka suburb, while insisting the vote was peaceful.

Counting resumes

Mundubile has declared victory, citing his party's parallel tally and alleging irregularities, including military control of counting centers in Mufulira, missing result sheets, and officials in the North-Western province being told to stop releasing results.

Hichilema has not claimed victory, only saying his campaign is seeing "positive results" as official counting continues.

Zambia's electoral commission released the first batch of official results on Saturday evening at the National Results Center, based on a partial count. Hichilema led with 438,708 votes (52.6%), followed by Mundubile with 351,281 votes (42.1%), and Kelvin Bwalya of the Zambia Must Prosper party a distant third with 3,965 votes. The commission stressed these figures were not final.

Al Jazeera's Mutasa reported that police and soldiers in armored vehicles had been deployed in parts of Lusaka, and it was unclear whether Friday's suspension would delay the release of final results, expected on Monday.

The commission said it would provide an update on Sunday morning regarding the timing of the next results announcement.

About 8.7 million people were registered to vote in Zambia, a country of 22 million with large copper reserves and a long tradition of peaceful power transfers.