Presidential candidate and Zambia’s opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has criticized the nation’s election commission for the sluggish progress in delivering results for Thursday’s vote.
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File: United Party for National Development Presidential candidate, Hakainde Hichilema (L), casting his vote at a polling station in Lusaka, Zambia, 20 January 2015 Photo:ANP/EPA/Jacoline Schoonees / Gcis.
Zambia’s president has been reelected in a closely contested vote over the main opposition leader, the country’s election panel said Monday.
The ruling Patriotic Front and electoral commission denied the result was manipulated. Lungu, who took office in January 2015 after the death of President Michael Sata, won a tight election over Hichilema previous year. Global election observers have praised Zambia for holding a “generally” peaceful election.
Election day – which saw a total of nine candidates run for president – was peaceful, with Zambian officials repeatedly issuing calls for calm to try to avoid a violent reaction to the results.
Election officials have also dismissed the allegations of rigging, saying that the slow publication of the results was due to the fact that the general elections featured votes for the president, parliament, mayors, local councilors and an amendment to the constitution on changes to the bill of rights. As of yet, no explanation for the delays has been given and no new time frame has been given.
The recent chaos led to the deaths of at least two people and forced the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to suspend campaigns in Lusaka and Namwala from July 8 to 18 as a result of the increase in violence. Lungu received about 1.86 million of the 3.7 million votes cast in a close race.
The only female presidential contender, who came third with 24,149 votes, said her party witnessed a lot of anomalies in the results for the presidential election, adding that the electoral body failed to help the situation by being adamant and failing to address the concerns raised. Southern province police commissioner Goldwin Phiri reported clashes with police in the towns of Monze, Chombe and Mazabuka. “We are demanding that they be suspended, resign or alternatively stop participating in these elections”, UPND lawyer Martha Mushipe said.
He said the PF cadres were waiting for nightfall last evening so that they could takeover the counting of votes.
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The victor of Thursday’s election, for which 22 out of 156 constituencies have been counted, must get more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off.
