Zambia’s President Hichilema wins re-election

ZAMBIA: ZAMBIA’s electoral commission has announced that Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected President after a race that critics said was tightly managed by his government.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia announced early Tuesday that Hichilema won re-election with around 60 percent of votes cast on 13 August.

His closest challenger, Brian Mundubile, a former provincial minister, won nearly 38 percent of the vote, according to Electoral Commission chair, Mwangala Zaloumis.

Mundubile capitalised on public frustration, with lingering hardships despite the country’s economic growth during Hichilema’s first term in office.

Five of the country’s 226 constituencies had not been tallied, though Zaloumis said “the outstanding results are not likely to materially influence the overall result of that election”.

ALSO READ: Peace is priceless, Hichilema tells Tanzanians

Vote counting was suspended last week after 11 people were arrested, including leading opposition figures, on the night of the election in a raid that involved an exchange of gunfire, while Mundubile was present.

The election, which was seen as a referendum of Hichilema’s first term, was overshadowed by opposition allegations of fraud.

Opposition parties and civil society groups accused the ruling party of shrinking the political space.

International and domestic observer missions said at the weekend that the conditions had contributed to an uneven playing field.