Zambia: Incumbent Leads Vote Count, Opposition Alleges Armed Raid
Al Jazeera Staff
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema leads the vote count with nearly 59%, moving closer to a first-round victory. The opposition alleges an armed raid on its candidate's home, sparking concerns over violence and fairness.
According to Zambia's Electoral Commission, with more than half of polling stations counted as of Sunday (August 16), incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema secured nearly 59% of the vote, far ahead of his main rival Brian Mundubile of the National Restoration and Unity Progress Party (NRPUP), who garnered about one-third of the votes.
A candidate must win more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off. Final results are expected within days. However, international observers have deemed the campaign unfair, and the counting process has not gone smoothly.
Counting was suspended for about six hours on Friday after reports of violence against election staff and allegations of marked ballots being stolen. The European Union (EU) observation mission described the move as "disproportionate," since only a small fraction of Zambia's polling stations were affected. The electoral commission said the threat to the counting process had been contained.
A 57-year-old counting officer was killed near the capital Lusaka on election day, and police arrested nine suspects.
Allegations of an armed raid
The NRPUP, part of the Tonse-Pamodzi opposition coalition, made a more severe accusation, claiming that on Friday evening armed personnel believed to be members of the Zambian military entered Mr. Mundubile's private residence in Lusaka, fired live ammunition wounding a lawmaker, and forcibly took away several people whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Mr. Mundubile argued that "no political language can cover up what happened," but urged supporters not to retaliate. The NRPUP called for "urgent regional and international intervention" to demand the government clarify the incident. Zambian authorities have not yet responded to the accusation.
Officials from President Hichilema's ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) had earlier accused the opposition of exaggerating irregularities to cast doubt on a legitimate outcome. The EU observation mission said its observers witnessed one person being detained by armed forces on the morning of August 10.
In preliminary findings released Saturday, the EU described the election as competitive but tilted toward the incumbent, citing heavy bias in state media and overlap between government activities and campaign outreach.
Zambia has seen peaceful transfers of power through elections since returning to multi-party politics in 1991, and Hichilema won a landslide in 2021. His first term coincided with a return to economic growth, although according to the World Bank, over 70% of the 22 million population still live on less than $3 a day, despite Zambia's substantial copper and mineral reserves.
