United Party for National Development (UPND) President candidate Hakainde Hichilema (L) and his son Habwela Hakainde cast their votes during the presidential and parliamentary elections in the capital, Lusaka, Zambia, August 11, 2016. “I want to work in a big company and he can bring that here”.
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In Masaiti, Mr Hichilema polled 7,794 while President Lungu had 6,421 followed by Andyford Banda of the People’s Alliance for Change who managed 56.
Responding to questions on the incident, Isaac said she hoped ECZ did not have officials capable of giving passwords away.
With election-related uncertainties, persistent power shortages, low copper prices, and the government’s strained fiscal position, the real GDP growth is forecast to slow to 3% this year.
“Zambians have heeded the call of campaigners to come out and vote in their numbers”, she said.
Constitutional changes mean that the victor must now secure more than 50 percent of the vote, pointing to a possible second round run-off that would likely be held next month.
At least three people were killed during the campaign, with regular clashes erupting between PF and UPND activists.
Zambia, in contrast to neighbours like Angola and Zimbabwe, has escaped war and serious upheaval since independence from Britain in 1964.
But the skirmishes continued, including fighting in the streets near Hichilema’s final election rally on Wednesday.
To be as transparent as we can possibly be to the extent that we wanted to demystify the notion that the Commission was hiding something; figures were being cooked during elections in the server room, and so we allowed stakeholders, invited political party presidents on a conducted tour of our IT departments to get into the server room and see what obtains there, something which has never happened at all previously.
Lungu criticized the opposition candidate after Hichilema reportedly said he would not accept defeat.
The Christian Churches Monitoring Group, which had 1,670 observers at polling stations across the country, described the election as a “step backward for the country”, expressing deep concern about the environment before the vote.
On the campaign trail, the British-educated economist emphasised his business credentials as an asset to turning around the economy. “We are demanding that they be suspended, resign or alternatively stop participating in these elections”, UPND lawyer Martha Mushipe said.
Lungu’s short term in office has been marked by criticism for failing to revive an economy battered by a decline in copper prices, the country’s main export, and a poor performing currency.
Zambia, a British colony until 1964, recorded GDP growth of 3.6 percent past year – its slowest rate since 1998.
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Zambia’s kwacha has weakened 25 percent against the dollar over the past 12 months, the fourth-worst performance in Africa, pushing the inflation rate to more than 20 percent. This news story is related to Print/141914-Zambia-votes-as-campaign-unrest-tests-stability/ – breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne.
