Zambian President Edgar Lungu (R) addresses supporters on May 21, 2016 at the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka as he launches his re-election campaign ahead of polling day on August 11.
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The electoral commission requires the victor to have more than 50% of the votes to avoid a runoff election.
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.
Earlier, his UPND party withdrew from the ballot verification process, alleging fraud.
Lungu defeated Hichilema in the previous election, last year, by less than 28,000 votes.
Lungu’s supporters broke into songs and dance at the totaling center when he was declared victor.
The electoral commission was on Monday meeting with representatives of political parties behind closed doors to verify the last batch of results.
The commission has rejected UPND charges that some of its officials were working to manipulate results to the advantage of Lungu’s Patriotic Front.
The electoral chief said most polling stations opened on time because materials were distributed on time, although there were a few polling stations, mostly in western and northwestern Zambia, where voting was delayed due to poor road network.
The opposition, however, has launched a challenge to the result and will appear in court later in the week, Al Jazeera’s Page said. This means that a run-off vote between Lungu and Hichilema is possible should neither candidate secure a majority in this round.
The UPND accused the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) of bias in favour of the PF.
He was elected president in 2015 to complete the term left vacant left by late president Michael Chilufya Sata who died in a London hospital in October 2014.
Thursday’s elections saw Zambians choosing members of parliament, local councilors and mayors, as well as voting in a constitutional referendum to amend the nation’s bill of rights.
Cecile Kyenge, a European Union observer of the election, said the commission was professional in its preparations for the vote, but did not address any perceived bias by state-run media toward the incumbent candidate.
His main challenger, Hakainde Hichilema got 1.7 million votes or 47.67 percent.
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Lungu won the last election with 48 percent of votes, taking office in early 2015 after the death of President Michael Sata.
