Zambia's Hichilema leads presidential vote count

Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema is currently leading in the presidential vote count following the release of preliminary results from national elections on Sunday, according to the electoral commission. Hichilema has secured 54.82 percent, or 1,056,812 of the declared votes, as of nearly half of the constituencies being announced.

This puts him on track for re-election without the need for a runoff if he maintains his overall majority. Brian Mundubile, Hichilema's main challenger, is in second place with 43 percent or 830,841 of the declared votes. The vote, which occurred alongside parliamentary and local elections on Thursday, is viewed as a test of Hichilema's economic progress since the pandemic-era debt crisis in Africa's second-largest copper producer.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia briefly halted vote counting on Friday due to violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers. The head of the opposition camp, Mundubile, denied claims of arrest and detention. A second-round vote will be held if no candidate secures at least 50 percent within 37 days of the initial poll.