“Clearly this is rigging an election with the collusion of managers at the Electoral Commission of Zambia or commissioners”, said the wealthy businessman, who is making his fifth bid for the presidency.
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“I am satisfied that, Edgar Chagwa Lungu was validly elected president in an election which took place on August 11, do hereby declare him duly elected president of the republic of Zambia”, said Electoral Commission of Zambia Chairman, Justice Esau Chulu, in Lusaka.
Hichilema’s party is looking at the possibility of lodging a protest with Zambia’s constitutional court over alleged vote tampering in Thursday’s election, said Jack Mwiimu, a senior party official.
Last year’s election was held because President Michael Sata died in office, the second time a serving leader has died in Zambia in the past five years.
The Patriotic Front party has rejected the allegations.
Lungu defeated Hichilema in the previous election, last year, by less than 28,000 votes.
The UNPD accused Zambia’s election commission of bias favoring the PF, and demanded a recount of votes in the capital of Lukasa.
Emanuel Phiri, 48, a taxi driver, said he believed Lungu was the popular choice of the Zambian people.
The electoral commission requires the victor to have more than 50% of the votes to avoid a runoff election.
The UPND has raised concerns that the slow pace of vote counting is due to some ECZ officials trying to manipulate the result in favour of Lungu, a claim the ECZ denies.
The opposition, however, has launched a challenge to the result and will appear in court later in the week, Al Jazeera’s Page said.
The shifting of political allegiances, which in other parts of the continent would be seen as a betrayal, would mean those who left the Patriotic Front may go back to President Lungu, begging to have their old positions back.
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With 132 out of 156 constituencies counted, Lungu was on Monday slightly ahead with 1 454 165 votes to Hichilema’s 1 383 594.
