Zambia election: Mundubile moves against President Hichilema

Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile has announced his plan to challenge President Hakainde Hichilema's re-election through the legal system. The country's electoral commission announced Hichilema as the winner of the August 13th election, garnering approximately 60% of the votes, while Mundubile received around 38%. Hichilema serves as the head of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, while Mundubile ran under the United Party for National Development.

In a statement, Mundubile raised concerns about whether the necessary conditions for a free, fair, transparent, and credible election were fulfilled. He pointed out the documentation of "serious irregularities, inconsistencies, and circumstances surrounding the conduct, counting, transmission, and declaration of results." Mundubile, a former Member of Parliament for Mporokoso, intends to present the evidence to a judicial body, which will assess factors such as lawful casting, counting, recording of votes, and the match between polling-station results, constituency, provincial, and national totals.

Mundubile emphasized that his decision to sue Hichilema was not driven by personal animosity but to safeguard the integrity of Zambia's democracy and ensure the respect of legitimate votes. The electoral commission temporarily halted vote-counting on Friday due to acts of violence and the theft of ballot papers, while a significant military presence hindered the monitoring of observers.

According to the European Union's election observer mission, many electoral staff failed to promptly record the results on the tally sheet as they were announced, with observers reporting extended breaks during the results tabulation process in nearly half of the observations. Furthermore, returning officers appeared to adhere to instructions before announcing the results.