Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema held a lead of nearly 59 percent after more than half the country's constituencies were counted on Sunday, according to the electoral commission, putting him on course for an outright first-round win, as the opposition alleged that armed personnel raided its presidential candidate's Lusaka home during the count.
Hichilema leads Zambia vote count amid opposition raid allegations and monitor criticism
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema held a lead of nearly 59 percent after more than half the country's constituencies were counted on Sunday, according to the electoral commission, putting him on course for an outright first-round win, as the opposition alleged that armed personnel raided its presidential candidate's Lusaka home during the count.
A candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off. Final results are expected within days. Hichilema's nearest challenger, Brian Mundubile of the opposition National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), trailed with about a third of the vote.
Vote tallying was suspended for roughly six hours on Friday after reports of violence against polling staff and allegations that marked ballots had been stolen. The European Union observer mission described that pause as 'disproportionate', noting that only a small fraction of Zambia's polling stations were affected. The electoral commission said the threat to the count had since been brought under control.
A 57-year-old polling agent was killed near the capital, Lusaka, on election day, and police arrested nine suspects in connection with that death.
In preliminary findings released on Saturday, the EU monitoring mission described the election as competitive but skewed towards the incumbent, pointing to heavy bias in state media coverage and a blurring of government business with campaigning. The mission also said its observers witnessed a person being seized by armed personnel on the morning of August 10.
Zambia has transferred power peacefully through elections since returning to multiparty politics in 1991. Hichilema won a landslide victory in 2021. His first term has coincided with a return to economic growth, though more than 70 percent of the country's 22 million people still live on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank, despite Zambia's substantial reserves of copper and other minerals.
- Zambian authorities had not responded to the NRPUP's allegations about the raid on Mundubile's home at the time the source was written.
- The source does not state the identity or institutional affiliation of the armed personnel alleged to have entered Mundubile's home, beyond the NRPUP's belief that they were members of the Zambian army.
- The source does not name the member of parliament who was allegedly wounded in the raid.
- The source does not state the current condition or whereabouts of the people the NRPUP says were forcibly removed from Mundubile's home.
- The source does not provide a total number of constituencies in Zambia, making it unclear what share of the count remains outstanding.
- The source does not state which specific polling stations were affected by the violence that prompted the six-hour suspension of tallying.
Read the original at Al Jazeera English