Zambia’s Hichilema leads presidential vote count

Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema is currently leading in the national elections, with nearly half of the constituencies having been declared. According to the electoral commission, Hichilema has secured 54.82% or 1,056,812 of the declared votes. This puts him on track for re-election without a second-round runoff, provided he maintains his overall majority.

As of the latest count around 1500 GMT, his main competitor, Brian Mundubile, holds second place with 43% or 830,841 of the declared votes. A total of 105 out of 226 constituencies were announced by the Electoral Commission of Zambia in this initial phase of vote counting. The presidential election, which took place alongside parliamentary and local elections on Thursday, is viewed as a significant test of whether Hichilema's economic progress since navigating a pandemic-era debt crisis is sufficient to secure him a second term as president of Africa's second-largest copper producer, aside from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On Friday, the Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily paused the vote counting due to violence directed at officials and the theft of ballot papers. However, Zambia's police have refuted a claim made by opposition leader Mundubile's team that their candidate was arrested and detained. In the event that no presidential candidate achieves at least 50% of the votes, a second-round vote will be held within 37 days following the initial poll.