Zambia's Electoral Commission declared President Hakainde Hichilema the winner of a second five-year term on Tuesday, awarding him roughly 60 percent of the vote against about 38 percent for first-time challenger Brian Mundubile of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, with results in from all but a handful of the country's 226 constituencies.
The count, following last week's vote, was anything but routine. Tallying was suspended nationwide for hours after reports of attacks on election staff and ballot theft, and police later raided a site tied to opposition figures, arresting roughly a dozen people after an exchange of gunfire that wounded a member of parliament. The government said the raid targeted militia activity and illegal weapons; Mundubile's party denied any connection and accused authorities of intimidation.
International observers, cited by Euronews, flagged an uneven playing field during the campaign, and turnout fell well short of the roughly 70 percent recorded in Hichilema's 2021 victory. Mundubile, a former provincial minister making his first run for the presidency, had alleged that result forms were altered and called for an independent probe into irregularities before the final tally was announced.
Hichilema, a former cattle rancher and businessman who took office in 2021 promising to fix a debt-ridden economy, closes a first term in which Zambia restructured billions in defaulted sovereign debt and saw growth return, though many voters still cite high living costs. Addressing the country after the result, he told supporters:
"We hear you, and we will continue to work for you."
Zambia has held peaceful, competitive elections since returning to multiparty politics in 1991, a record regional analysts say helped keep this year's tensions from escalating further. Mundubile has not conceded, and opposition lawyers are expected to review the results before any legal challenge; Hichilema is due to be sworn in for a term running through 2031.