Zambia resumes vote counting after election officials attacked

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has restarted the vote counting for presidential and parliamentary elections after halting proceedings due to reports of violence against officials and stolen ballot papers. Commission Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis announced on Friday that the security threat to the electoral process has now been contained and the suspension has been lifted immediately.

Zaloumis did not disclose whether the stolen ballots would impact the final results. President Hakainde Hichilema, a frontrunner for re-election, called for patience in a social media post, while his opponent, Brian Mundubile, claimed victory without offering evidence and urged the results to be released immediately. The commission has not yet announced any official results, but preliminary counts suggest Hichilema may have won.

Both candidates are urging the public to remain peaceful and patient while awaiting the official outcome. Previous elections in Zambia have generally been peaceful, although there have been isolated instances of violence in the past. Civil society groups and opposition parties had expressed concerns about potential repression ahead of the election, but the government dismissed these claims.